Through the Eyes of a Flareon
by GoldFlareon
Summary: Dusty the flareon and Izante the leafeon are two best friends. However, they're quickly separated and Dusty finds herself uncovering many things, including loyal friends and ruthless enemies. But what kind of dangerous mystery plagues her destiny? *gasp*
1. Chapter One: The Battle

YO! This is my longest Pokémon story yet. I have it other places too, such as Pe2k and DeviantART, so don't be alarmed if you see it elsewhere. I hope you like it. Feel free to leave a review, and thanks for reading! 8D

**Chapter one: The Battle**

I stood by the side of my best friend.

The only friend I had had in a long time who understood me. She would always be there to comfort me in the darkest of times, and help me along the way when things got tough. The fact that we were both females only made it easier to connect. We were meant to be best buddies. And we knew it.

Although she did have a somewhat different way of expressing herself and going about things, we both felt comforted by one another. Ever since I was a little eevee, my trainer and I would search all over the regions for new pokémon to befriend. We came across thousands upon thousands of pokémon throughout our journey, but not once did I admire a pokémon the same way I look up to Izante.

One day, when I was still an eevee, both my trainer and I happened to bump into a human. A male human. Straight away did I sense a something special between him and my female trainer, and I was happy for her. She seemed attracted to this gentleman, as did he to her. And that had to mean his pokémon would make a great friend.

It was that same fateful day when I met Izante, of course. She too was an eevee, but we both eventually evolved. She had evolved first, growing many new features. The deep green curvy leaf on the top of her head had waved while her sword-like tail, being almost fully green, had danced in the soft breeze. Her whole body became a light, sandy cream colour, matching her large head. Her big brown eyes were full of wonder, but not the slightest bit of wisdom. She had brown socks on her paws, or so they were called because of the colour change from the maize. Her ears were big and nicely shaped, and were an emerald green colour, with obvious, darker green veins flowing through them, resembling leaf veins. These same lines scribbled her tail. She was as beautiful as the Moon's reflection shining off the sparkling surface of a lake back then, and just the same today.

The thought of 'today' caught me off guard and snapped me back into the present. The sweet smell of a near-victory passed through my nostrils as I stared back at the two pokémon that Izante and I were facing, eying them carefully. They must have thought about the irony of two female eevee evolutions up against them at once. Maybe the combination of a flareon and leafeon together was perhaps a little bit intimidating. However, there was no way I could have known. The two pokémon in front of me had minds that I clearly had no access to.

One of the pokémon was a butterfree, who was a butterfly pokémon with large rounded wings, each twice the size of her body. The wings had black trails flowing through and outlining them like thin string. Her body – not too much bigger than her head - was a deep purple, and she had two red orbs for eyes on either side of her face. A small mouth-like feature was placed below in the centre of her head, under the eyes, which had two small pointy white teeth poking out. Two blue feet, the same colour as its three-pronged small paws, were dangling from the body, and a long pair of antennae protruded from the top of the butterfree's head like two strands of hair. The pokémon was hovering above ground by slowly beating her large wings back and forth.

The second opponent was a golem—a very round and heavy boulder-like pokémon. His small, snake-like head was copper, holding two vicious eyes with scarlet irises. There were two strong arms poking out both sides of the Rock pokémon, embedded with three fingers that had sharp claws on the ends. The two powerful legs under his body were obviously strong, being able to support his weight.

Seeing as the golem was a Rock and Ground type pokémon, Izante had been attacking him, as she had the advantage. The butterfree, however, was all mine. The few fire attacks that I had launched at her seemed to have weakened her quite a bit, and I could see her panting with exhaustion. Obviously, we had the upper hand.

Izante glanced at me with a grin and frowning eyes, making her appearance malicious-looking. I reflected her expression, thinking that this battle would end now if not sooner.

"Dusty!" called my master. I flung my head towards her. The long brown wavy fur on her head swayed in the wind as the calls reached my ears. The small hazel eyes on her face glinted as sunlight passed through them. Her expression was filled with determination and belief in me. I was so lucky to have such a trainer. "Attack that butterfree with a flamethrower!" she commanded, and I nodded a brief 'okay'.

I took less than a second to lock onto my target before a hot jet of streaming flames shot towards the Bug and Flying foe. "Hhaaaa!" I called into the afternoon light.

The two trainers we were up against commanded their golem to block the attack, and the fire did not harm him in the slightest. _'What a waste of energy!'_ I thought, scoffing as the golem barely felt the warm fire against his rock shell. But that was when Izante jumped in. She had probably been thinking along the same lines as me. Great minds think alike!

My friend swung around and savagely used a leaf blade attack with her tail on the golem, which injured the foe badly due to the type disadvantage.

I seized the chance of an off-guarded butterfree, and released a stream of fire onto her frail body, scorching her and causing the butterfly pokémon to shriek in pain. I smiled greasily with satisfaction. It wasn't too often that I was involved with trainer battles – because they weren't easy to stumble upon – and when I was, I loved to win and know that I was controlling the fight—relating to power and advantages.

The butterfree reeled back and fluttered her broad wings furiously at me. I struggled to stand my ground and fight the whirlwind attack. It _was_ working, but barely. The force was just not enough, and I managed to stay on the spot, although being pushed back a little bit at a time.

All of a sudden, an explosion of pain erupted in my left side, and I was tossed through the air to crash land on the dirt, grazing my skin a little. A gravel-grinding sound zoomed around me while I contemplated my pain. "UHGH!" I yelped in a cry of discomfort. I instantly knew that I had been hit with something I was weak to.

"Dusty," a familiar voice chanted, "watch out for that golem's attacks!" It was Master calling to me.

I lifted my head from the ground, and spotted the golem close—too close! I swiftly bounded to my feet and barely dodged the great Rock pokémon's rollout move in time to still be standing. He skimmed my bushy tail as he screamed past, but seeing my tail was almost entirely fur, I didn't feel anything relating to pain... Unless I was referring to the aching pain in the side of my body. But that was a different issue.

I nearly stumbled as I stood on all fours. The rollout attack had really caught me at a bad time, and when I was least expecting it. It's a pretty terrible feeling to be hit unexpectedly—especially when the attack is one of the worst to hit me.

I eyed the golem with focus as he sped towards me along the ground. Golem could heat-seek their targets when they were curled like a ball so as to guarantee a direct hit—or at least to be able to stay on track.

He whirled around and came back at full speed towards me. I stood a little dazed at the incoming attack before me, and that's when I heard a shriek from my trainer. "Dusty! Watch out, girl!"

I pushed off the stony dirt and sprang to the left. However, the golem came straight back around and flew into my right side this time. I screamed before I hurtled to the ground, inconveniently landing on Izante, who was nearby. We both tumbled, and I could feel my energy diminishing at a rapid pace. I rolled off my friend and onto the ground beside her.  
The little bell attached to the collar around my neck jingled and made a pretty little sound. The bell was a miniature chingling—yellow with a red and white scarf-like feature wrapped around its neck. However, the features were minuscule, but detailed magnificently. I think it had been quite expensive in human currency.

Izante seemed to yell at me a bit after we were done groaning in pain, but only because I crashed into her while she was in the middle of regaining her health, using her synthesis attack to do so.

"Sorry!" I blurted out, turning towards her. We both hauled ourselves back up. Izante's tail was sagging, and her eyes were tinged with fury. Mine would have been, but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself because of all the injuries I had withstood. _'I wonder how Izante's feeling... I hope it isn't too bad,'_ I thought. _'Well, better get back on track. The butterfree and golem'll be coming back any second.'_ Izante and I stood next to each other, eying the golem that sped toward us, still curled in a ball. "Wait for it..." I slowly said, standing with my legs shoulder-width apart for support.

"Wait for it...!" Izante mimicked.

The spinning golem neared and we readied ourselves. "Now!" called our masters.

"FEEL THE WRATH OF MY FIRE!" I yelled, boiling hot flames inside me.

"EAT GRASS!" Izante exclaimed, looking as if she was doing the same. I stole a quick glance from her, confused at what she had said as opposed to what I had said; she just shrugged by widening her eyes, focusing back on track.

Simultaneously, Izante and I unleashed a staggering combination of fire and grass energy, which stopped the golem in his tracks, and I watched the colourful power surge through his body. I expressed more of my anger, harnessing it loud and clear. All around us, dirt and dust from the ground rose and whipped wildly around the trees, forcing the grass to bow down before us. This was mine and Izante's combination of autumn ray and molten flow, our two special attacks. It took a lot out of us, but they were powerful moves which dealt a serious amount of damage.

After a good, long burst of energy and tiring effort, our attacks ceased, and we both stared at the golem who had been knocked out cold, and the butterfree who had been blown away—but was still going!

Exhausted, I collapsed onto the ground, panting. I could still fight – I could tell by the rage and the boiling feeling inside of me – but I wanted just one moment to catch my breath again. I heard Izante bound off, most likely to attempt to now faint the butterfree and end the match for us. However, I lay on the cold earthy ground with my eyelids closed, making an effort to regain the most energy I could get my fangs around. Maybe after I had rested for long enough, I would be able to stick with my best friend to fight the Bug and Flying type. After all, I did have the advantage over her.

I managed to get a grip of some more strength, but it would take a while before I was going to be fully recovered enough in order to put up a good fight if need be. However, I did not think it was necessary to be thinking about fighting now. Izante had bounded off to take care of our flying foe, which she could most likely handle on her own, and the golem had fallen hard.

"Great job, Dust!" praised my master from another side of the field, and I smiled inwardly.

Just when I thought I could get a few minutes to myself, I sensed and then heard someone approaching—and I assumed it would be Master. I stayed put and kept my eyes closed. Sometimes it was better to use my hearing instead of my sight.

I then heard a voice trying to persuade me to get up and continue fighting... But wait... This one wasn't one I recognised! It was extremely low and gravelly, and had an angry quality to it. And when I came to think of it, the footsteps were loud and too irregular for it to be my master.

It was then when I sensed a shadow towering over my back. As my heart pounded, I quickly whipped my head around to see two large, brown, rough feet. I looked upwards at the figure, and to my surprise, it was the golem again.

I shrieked, wondering how in the world he could still be standing. Maybe he was holding a reviver seed, or he did actually have energy left, and he ate a berry he was holding or something to boost what remained of it.

"Dusty! Quick, get to your feet as fast as you can!" called a familiar voice, this time. My eyes darted across the area for a face. I laid eyes on Master.

Frantically, I sprung backwards about a metre, obeying my commands and making sure I wasn't easily within the golem's reach. I would have expected him to come after me, but when he didn't, I frowned slightly. I met his eyes. He did not seem to have any intention of coming after me...which was strange—considering before he was supposedly full of determination to attack.

I thought too soon. With a notable rumble, a strong leg came down upon the ground, alerting me that the golem's eyes now held the urge to defeat me. I scowled, trying to figure this all out. There was something about that golem that made me glower. He looked so sinister... And already, his eyes had changed, now to look so eager to win the match. ...Although, for something more than a victory, it appeared. Pleasure, maybe? I had no idea. But I did know that I had to take him down. Right down. And right now. There was no time to wait.

"Give it a taste of poison! Use toxic!" Master instructed.

_'Toxic? That's a bad idea. It'll barely affect him!' _I thought with a bit of confusion. _'Ahh, well. If that's what Master wants, then that's what Master gets!' _

A bubbly sensation exploded somewhere in my body, and I felt my throat begin to burn softly with the taste of acidic fluid. Usually this wouldn't happen, because I was used to using Fire type attacks so often. Although this time, it was a Poison type attack. In a blurted mess, the purple poison erupted from my mouth, spewing all over my opponent. Personally, I didn't at all fancy using toxic, but it was one of the TMs that Master wished for me to learn. With the TM's power and enough practice, I was able to learn a Poison type attack without accompanying more weaknesses.

The golem shielded himself as the attack slopped onto his rocky shell by turning his head in the opposite direction and holding up one of his arms. Following the toxic attack, Master instructed me to use bite, a Dark type attack.

I frowned. This would be difficult. Aiming for his arms, either of his legs or his head would be the only way of not breaking my fangs. In this case, a bite attack was a risk. I didn't want to go to the pokémon vet. I hated it there. They would insert painful needles into a pokémon's skin, injecting them with liquids that were apparently helpful. They would grope you and kept you still while they searched your ears for parasites. I couldn't fathom how a human would want to do that to a pokémon.

My foe simply shook off the sludge and stared at me for a moment, catching my gaze and holding it in place. I released my frown and clenched teeth, and noticed something. Had the golem wiped off his anger along with the poison? At this, I was utterly confused as I stared hopelessly into his eyes. The crimson colour in them seemed to quiver worryingly and shake me to the bone. What was this Rock pokémon thinking? Did he have something he wished to tell me? Whatever it was, I think it was upsetting.

"Dusty, what's wrong? Why can't you use bite?" Master called to me. I wanted to answer, but I couldn't.

"Hey! Golem! Get your stony butt into a rollout attack, now!" yelled a harsh voice. I glanced at where it was coming from, losing my concentration on 'Golem'. It seemed to be a shaggy looking male trainer who had something mysterious about him—I could sense it. There was somewhat of a shady character behind that pretend smile and kindness he had displayed towards Master when he said he wanted to battle. He had a female as a partner, or so it seemed, who was just about as suspicious. She was the one who owned the butterfree.

"My name...is Roarake. Not 'Golem'," the pokémon standing before me grumbled.

I was shocked. I snapped back to him. "...Wh-What?" I answered after the great Rock pokémon muttered something under his breath about a 'stupid human'. _'How could his trainer not know his name...?'_ I thought.

The male golem exhaled deeply and looked hard into my eyes. But I just couldn't believe that he had just talked back to his trainer—even though he couldn't have heard.

"Do not pretend you didn't hear me, fool," snapped the pokémon. I narrowed my eyes with scorn.

_'How dare he say that. First his master, then a fellow pokémon!' _I thought. "Have you no respect?!" I questioned. He just sneered, widening his nostrils to make room for his mouth movements.

"I have **plenty** of it. Why else do you think I am trying to defeat you? Getting up after that blast was not easy, you know."

After that remark, my brow furrowed. He didn't make any sense. _'What?! How on Earth is trying to faint somebody respectful?!'_ I just shook my head. I had no time for this ridiculousness. If he wanted to play games, he could bring it up with someone else. "Well, then. If you're gonna _'defeat me'_ then why in the world are you just **standing there**?!" I teased, raising my voice to be loud and clear. With an air-trembling roar of anger, the so called 'Roarake' launched himself at me shaped like a ball, and looking like a boulder. _'Well, they don't call them 'golem' for nothing!'_ The thought rang in my head as I readied myself once again for the incoming attack. The boulder-like pokémon skidded on the spot at first, but then I realised that it was only to charge himself up to be faster for when he released his attack.

When he came at me, I lowered the front part of my body near to the ground, then pushed off, this time leaping over Roarake rather than dodging him by flying off to one side. I landed on the ground, my paws absorbing all force caused by landing. Quickly swinging around, I saw the boulder do a u-turn and come straight back at me. I dodged to the left, and then he came at me another time. Once again, I pounced over the rolling stone. But this time I miscalculated my jump and the tip of my tail was caught on the spinning pokémon, and I flew backwards, trailing down the boulder and under its bottom in one blink of an eye. I screeched in pain as the boulder trampled over me, squashing me under its weight. The awful feeling shivered up my body as I had the weight pass over my chest and then my face before I flung out.

My distressful calls carried out across the battle field, which managed to catch Izante's attention, thankfully. Master also seemed worried by the tone of her voice as she cried out towards me.

"Dusty! No! Are you okay, girl?" were her words. I was in a fair amount of pain, and for someone to ask if I was "okay" was completely ironic.

I winced at the aching I was experiencing, but if I didn't move in a flash, that golem would come back and cause me more damage until I ran out of energy and fainted. And if it happened again, I would be in danger of breaking something—and I was lucky it didn't happen the first time. The Rock type performed another burnout, causing his attack to charge up to become stronger.

"Dusty!" Master called. "Hit that golem with a flamethrower before it hits you again!" I nodded, frowning harder, and stepped with my legs apart to give me more balance. As quick as I could, I heated up rapidly inside and flicked my head in a half semi-circle, looking up. The flames were tingling in my throat, and I could feel the pleasant sensation that tickled inside. With a deep breath, I spurted a long stream of fire into the my opponent. He ceased his attack, uncurling from his ball. He had barely endured the attack which continued on for about three seconds before I ran out of breath. Even though he was a Ground and Rock type, I could see that Roarake was struggling to hold onto his consciousness by the way he seemed to keep drifting away from reality. The flames engulfed him, chewed him up, and spat him out. Roarake toppled around as if he had consumed a rotten berry and become drunk. But even after all of the damage that this golem had taken, he shook it off, but was heavily panting.

_'He must now know how I feel,'_ I thought, not having to remember about the pain that I had to deal with. But still, how on earth could this golem keep getting up?! It didn't make sense to me, and I thought of it to be absurd. "'Will Power' must be your middle name. You won't let yourself give up!" I commented, and the golem looked up at me while frowning.

"You are not bad at surviving attacks yourself," he replied with a grunt, but slight respect. And because of that, I was a little surprised. Maybe he had been impressed by my strong attack that fended off his own. "But that does not mean I can let you win! If I lose this, you will regret it; I promise you! So I shall do all I can to prevent you from winning this battle—for your sake!" Roarake vowed. But I was left stunned once again.

"What are you on about? That makes no sense! Contradictory much?!" I shouted. However, he didn't seem to be listening at all as he charged at me. I snorted with frustration. If he didn't want to listen, then I wouldn't waste my time trying to talk.

I watched as he neared, running on his two massive feet. Every step he took made the ground rumble slightly, sending little vibrations crawling up my legs. I steadied myself, and calculated my jump just right this time.

Pushing off the ground, I leaped forwards onto the golem, using his head like a stepping stone to bounce on. Straight after I gained the elevation from the pokémon's head, I bounded over his body and sustainably landed on the ground. Quickly I snapped my head around in the Rock and Ground type's direction. He ended up falling over from the small force my legs caused. _'He's getting much weaker...as am I. I have to finish this!'_ I silently declared. However, just as I was about to unleash another powerful flamethrower, I heard pawsteps padding behind me. Instantly I span around to find Izante in my face. I blinked a few times, then smiled. "Long time no see!" I laughed, my eyes closed with glee. She nodded.

"Hehe, yeah." She smiled back at me while I reflected her expression.

"I'll give you the pleasure of finishing him off. I'm pretty much exhausted," I told the leafeon with assurance. She nodded back.

I watched carefully as my best friend charged up her power and then lope towards Roarake, her paws becoming squashed each time pressure was applied to them.  
The golem slowly and shakily turned around once on his feet, and his eyes widened instantly. For a split second, I felt sorry for him because of the worry that showed in his eyes. To him, this match seemed important. Very important. The crimson irises were fixed on Izante, but also seemed to touch me somehow, too.

I snapped out of it. This was merely a golem that we were battling for friendly competition. How could it be significant? It's not like this was an experience we would never forget, or even remember for that matter. Guiding my mind back to the battle in front of me, I shook my head.

My leafeon friend sped past the golem, striking him with a glowing tail—iron tail. She then came to a sudden stop, but with the stop came a rebounding push of the ground to come racing back in Roarake's direction. Next, Izante magnificently leaped, jumping so she would land perfectly on top of her opponent, and came crashing down with her tail first.

Right before the leaf blade attack slashed at Roarake's shell, a cry emitted from the golem's mouth. "Flareon, forgive me for my weakness! I failed to p—" His voice had been cut off from Izante's attack, and he landed on the ground with a loud thump, bearing no remaining energy. His eyes danced with swirls as a moan escaped his mouth before they closed.

I spotted the butterfree not far off ready to be nursed by her trainer. She had been defeated by Izante. The golem had been knocked out cold by us both now, and it became evident that Izante and I had won the match.


	2. Chapter Two: Night Sky

**Chapter two: Night Sky**

I was looking Izante in the eyes the night we won the battle. That same enthusiastic emotion had always stayed alive in them for as long as I could remember. She was smiling, and was more than satisfied that we had won the match—as was I.

However, I was a little worried. Those odd things that Roarake had said during the battle... What did he mean by them? Was he trying to make me feel uneasy? Because it had worked. The golem I had been up against had even told me odd things after the match, which was all the more strange.

I remember it clearly: my leafeon friend and I were celebrating our victory moments after Izante had fainted Roarake. Our masters had both cheered about it, and not long after, they joined us in the happy seconds of it all.

While I was nuzzling Master on her dry nose, out of the corner of my eye I happened to notice Roarake's trainer walk over to him, rather unimpressed. He told the pokémon that he was useless, and a waste of time and effort. After he called for his poké ball to return his pokémon. However, the poké ball did not do so. Instead of popping open and the red energy flowing over the golem, the red and white sphere just sat still in the trainer's hands. It was then when the human hit his fist against the round object, obviously angry with it.

Master had then put me down. She made her way to the female trainer who owned the butterfree, and Izante's master walked to the male trainer who owed Roarake. "Great battle! You had the upper hand for a while there," mentioned Master while I trotted across to the golem.

He spotted me and instantly looked away. The glance that I stole from him before he turned told me that he was ashamed. I stopped for a second, but then continued on towards him, edging into his space. "Hey, Roarake," I called once I was about four or so metres away from him. He still seemed uninterested, but it wouldn't stop me from continuing. "Nice battle back there. You were quite impressive." But in return, all I got was a grunt. He didn't turn around, either. "I thought I was going to lose at one stage. But I guess my speed paid off—as well as Izante's save right at the end," I mentioned, showing a friendly smile. I had a slight feeling I was talking too much though.

"Hmph," he muttered once again. At that, I frowned.

"What's your problem?" I blurted, my tone shifting completely. "I'm just trying to have a bit of friendly conversation here!" I yelled at him, agitated. I snapped a stick under my paws in the process, hardly noticing.

"..." He stayed silent as I stood on all fours in front of his boulder-like body. He flung himself around to look at me sharply. His eye twitched, as well as the skin just above his mouth. I stayed standing and glared at him. All I wanted was to make sure we were friends. After all, it's never good when you instantly become enemies with the pokémon you were facing after a battle. All it did was create more tension, and the matches were supposed to be friendly and for mere, harmless competition.

But I thought again, realising that yelling at him wouldn't do the trick. So I sighed, waiting for him to do or say something. I looked harder at him. The twitching began to make sense. Shiny pools of salty water began to generate in Roarake's eyes. He began crying. Utterly confused, I blinked over and over again, wondering why in the world he would be doing such a thing given the circumstances.

_'Could he be...crying because he lost? Or...was it something I said?' _

In the middle of my confused thoughts, Roarake's lips separated. "Do you know...what it is like...to be stolen away?" he bravely stuttered. He looked at me with such sorrow and agony. His eyes were droopy and stone cold—but not in a scornful way. It looked like the life had been drained right out of them.

I slowly rotated my head to the right in small jolts. I watched him with concern and a furry frown. "N...no, I don't," I replied, not knowing whether I wanted to know his reply or not. And from what I could tell...the answer would be one composed from his own personal experiences.

Taking in my reply, the golem had released a long sigh that was somewhat jagged. "I...was trying to—" he started, but was instantly cut off by his trainer. The human must have become sick of talking to Izante's master and wrapped up the short chat. He put a hand under the golem's chin and shifted the pokémon's head in his direction. Personally I thought of him to be handling Roarake much too roughly, and if my master handled me like that I would definitely have something to complain about.

"Thank you for that _wonderful_ battle, Golem." He smiled greasily at his pokémon, speaking with sarcasm. After that, the trainer's face turned to a frown. In response to his master's statement, Roarake just sneered with a dark frown. He pulled away, the human letting go but scratching the golem's face 'by mistake'.

_'That's not how you're supposed to treat your pokémon!' _I thought while staring at the two.

His trainer looked immediately unimpressed with Roarake, and his face formed the most ugly expression of annoyance and intolerance. Frowning at this, I cocked my head to one side. What was going on? And why did they treat each other that way? Pokémon and their masters were supposed to look out for each other and be happy together. But these two seemed like they were fighting fire with fire. _'I wonder what's up...'_ I thought with negative curiosity, keeping a eye out for anything that would further my suspicion

Then the trainer looked at me. "What a fine pokémon you are," he complimented, reaching out to stroke my head. "What a shame _you_ are not so useful," he sniggered condescendingly, facing Roarake. The great duel type rumbled back at him.

Suddenly I felt angry. A low growl sounded in my throat, which made the human's furless paw freeze before coming any closer. Humans who treated pokémon like he did was one of the few things that made me sick. As his hand progressed towards my tuft, I snapped at his fingers, nearly hesitating in case Master was looking. But she would believe me over this man anyway.

The man stood up, spitting at me. I blew a flame at the falling saliva, causing it to vanish before it reached me. He sneered, turned around, and strode over to our trainers, seeing as I apparently won our strange argument. I turned back to the golem, eying him with a much softer glare than the one I gave his trainer.

Shortly after that, the butterfree's trainer had lead it away from us all, and was beginning to walk back in a different direction to where we were headed—which was weird, because that was the way they came...

While Roarake's trainer was saying goodbye to our masters, the golem's gaze gripped me. "Do _not_ let it happen," he shouted to me, making me a little startled. "Be wary; be very wary! And let me tell you one thing." Roarake had been absolutely serious about his every word. But I was still completely mystified. "Being stolen away is the most devastating event that could happen. It would be better to see our masters die than for us to be taken! At least you know...that you will never see them again that way!" And those were the last words I heard from him before he was called back, this time with a different poké ball which seemed to be the correct one.

Master turned to me, her face clouded with a mist of concern. "That golem...sounded distressed," she mentioned to me, and I couldn't stop frowning.

**-ooo-**

I watched as the bonfire burned in the cool night air, dancing across to blacken logs. The fire was using it to stay alive; washing over the different pieces that were once part of a tree and consuming their goodness. The flames climbed upwards and lapped over the wood time and time again, as if licking it and devouring it slowly. Tiny, tiny sparks flew from the pile of wood engulfed in flames, flicking around everywhere. A few even struck me on the muzzle...but I didn't mind at all. My eyes were too busy swaying and flickering as I observed the amazing sight.

At the same time, I lowered my head with exhaustion. I knew that it was late, and Master had already gone to sleep. She had kindly allowed me to stay up to dwell in my thoughts, as I wasn't ready for sleep at the time. I felt my fluffy tail hovering just above the ground, but curled it around the side of my body for more warmth—not that I particularly needed it.

Izante was lying about a metre away from me a little closer to the fire. She needed all the warmth she could get, being a Grass type who gained warmth from sunlight. While I was always warm, my best friend was constantly cool when the magnificent burning orb was not suspended between the clouds.

She threw me a soft glance and held her head in position. "We should head off to bed soon. I'm getting tired," she told me. I nodded, but I didn't plan to head back right then and there. I needed a minute.

"Soon," I muttered back, my chin on my paws while I lay down.

Once we had stopped talking, all that could be heard was the small crackle of the fire spitting and spattering, and the soft padding of my friend walking towards the tent only sounded after a few moments. Silence was present, and I nearly let my eyes move from the fire.

"Well...I'll be in the tent," she called to me softly in an effort not to wake our masters. Deciding not to reply, my eyes stayed focused on the fire as it reflected its orangey-red light off my already-orange face.

I couldn't stop thinking about the battle. The pain in the side of my body had nearly cleared up, as well as the other pains, and I almost felt fine about them. Master had sprayed me with a special healing spray that helped cure my wounds and fed me a few natural berries said to assist curing injuries. Izante's master probably did the same to her, seeing as she looked the same as me relating to health statuses.

I had really thought deeply of what Roarake had told me, and those repeating words that circled my mind endlessly nibbled at my nerves, and it was the only thing on my mind...

_"Flareon, forgive me for my weakness! I failed to p—" _

What could he possibly have meant by that? And then the talk about being stolen? What did he even mean by that?

Though my wondering mind didn't cease to slow down the gears, I knew I needed to rest soon. It would probably be a tiring day tomorrow, like any other day, and I had spent long enough thinking about the strange issue...

**-ooo-**

My sleep was very daunting. I was constantly having weird dreams that made no sense, but a lot of sense at the same time. Things would be muddled up in some places, frightening in others and plain mysterious at every other time... I knew they were partly to do with Roarake's speeches, but other parts were randomly stuffed in there that had no relevance to him or the battle we had.

Eventually I had become sick of waking up repeatedly and gotten up, even though I felt dizzy and notably unwell. The tent we were staying in was fairly simple and rather small, to ensure easy transportability, so I needed to be careful of our masters when climbing over them to reach the entrance. They both had long sacks to sleep in, which were warm, silky on the outside and different colours. Izante and I lay next to them, but we also had the choice of returning into our balls. However, what crazy pokémon wouldn't have chosen to stay beside their trainer as opposed to being cooped up in a tight and uncomfortable space where reality seemed not to exist?

As I had stood up, I noticed Izante stirring, and hoped that she was having a pleasant sleep—unlike me. Quietly, I crept around Master, being extra careful not to bump her or Izante's master. They both looked to be sleeping peacefully, which was good. I made my way to the entrance of the tent which I had cleverly unzipped using my teeth. It did take some time, but eventually I managed to make a hole big enough to slip through. After I landed on grassless ground, I attempted to zip it back up, but I only managed to get it half way before I shrugged and left.

I stood out in the early morning air. The sun was a few hours away from rising, and I knew it wouldn't be coming up anytime soon.

Looking for a nice place to be by myself, I began to wander north of the tent. I padded slowly through a tree-populated area where the branches leaned in all directions. Although I assumed they were there, I didn't notice the many sleeping pokémon in the trees and bushes as I walked by, simply because I wasn't concentrating.

The moonlight shone through the canopy, casting patches of light upon the dirt. There were barely any stones on the forest floor, which made it easier for me to keep walking without interruptions whilst staring upwards. The sky was like a vast sea dotted with many shining pokémon, and occasionally there would be the odd bird pokémon to fly alongside it.

My walk ended when I crossed paths with a beautiful lake. I was still coming out of the trees when I spotted the water sparkling and shimmering as the Moon's reflection wobbled across the lake's surface. There wasn't much of a breeze, so the water was almost perfectly still. I listened to the silent nature around me as I wandered closer and shut my eyes. This was as peaceful as it could get.

Opening them again, I stepped carefully onto the muddy ground lining the edge of the lake. The mud was squishy and reasonably cool, and it seeped in the gaps between my toes. I decided to dip my front paw into the water so its tip was under the surface. The water wasn't very cold; it was just right. In fact, it was almost warm. _'If I wasn't so scared of water, I would surely go in for a dip,' _I quietly thought.

Then I began to wonder why I was so scared of water. _'You're a Fire type, silly,'_ the voice in my head giggled. I smiled as my thoughts carried me to another world.

Just like the trees, I swayed in the night, my eyes at half-mast. I was suddenly startled as a splash caught me off guard. My eyes caught sight of something jumping out of the water. I didn't get a good look at it, but from what I was able to see, a blue tail with patches of pink that was shaped like a butterfly's wing flicked at the surface, then disappeared. _'Finneon.' _

While I was lost in the breath-taking sight, my thirst hit me like a rock. Even just touching the water focused my thoughts to my dry mouth. After all, when I ate my night meal I didn't have anything to drink. So I lowered my head, but kept an eye on the Moon's shimmering reflection, keeping the magical sight in view. My tongue touched the liquid and felt a pleasant feeling; almost an exciting one. It lapped the water into my mouth and I swallowed, repeating the process to slurp the taste of nature to satisfy my body's needs.  
By the time I'd stopped, I was almost leaning into the water. My paws had dug their way into the mud, and I had to re-steady myself. The last thing I wanted to happen was to fall in.

Suddenly the sound of a stick breaking in half pulsed to my ears. They immediately perked up, intensifying themselves to be more able to hear. I span around to the direction the sound was coming from at the same time. I felt myself tremble with both fear and anxiety to fight. My fur stood on end as I looked hard at the bushes and trees which were now in front of me. _'Whoever it is is going to get creamed,'_ I thought with confidence, lowering my head and changing my stance into a fighting one. Another rustle sounded in the bushes, and I began to sense something sinister. My eyes widened, and in a split second, I had taken a few-stepped push off from the soft earth and leapt into the air!

I came crashing down onto my foe after a few moments of hang-time, and we rolled over each other. I was scared to the bone, but furious at the same time. Someone had tried to ambush me! I bit and scratched at what I thought was attacking me, not focusing on who it was. But once I heard that shriek, I stopped, realising that I was attacking someone very familiar.

At first I couldn't identify the pokémon due to the dim light the Moon provided, but once I adjusted, it became clear. Izante was the one beneath my paws, subtle whimpers escaping her muzzle.


	3. Chapter Three: Abduction

Just to let you know, the chapters are fairly short until chapter 6. ^^ Then they get longer from there. xDD Hope you like it!

**Chapter three: Abduction!**

How could I be so ignorant as to attack my own friend? Shocked, I instantly scuttled off her frail body. "Sorry 'bout that, Izante!" I laughed sheepishly. "I guess my instincts got the better of me." She too lifted herself up, shaking off the dust and mud stuck to her fur thanks to my paws. She mumbled a sentence of forgiveness, and then asked me what I was doing up so early. "Oh..." I started, slowly making my way back to the lake I already treasured. Izante trailed behind me, awaiting an answer. I curled my lips to the inside of my mouth, feeling my sharp fangs press against the soft skin tissue. "I couldn't sleep," I simply answered. My eyes were fixed on the water that trembled at the sight of us.

"Hmm... Is there something wrong?" Izante questioned quietly.

"I... I was busy thinking about..." I trailed off.

"About what?"

I sighed before replying, "Things."

"What kind of things?" she pressed.

"Things! J'st...things..." I was a little frustrated about her questions, so I gave her an agitated answer... But I thought again. "Uhh, it's just th't..." I frowned. I then explained to my best friend all about the peculiar things I had been told by Roarake. About being taken, about the respect thing...

Izante's thinking face became her expression once I had finished my explanation about Roarake's weird words. "Odd," she replied. "I wonder what he meant."

"Surely you heard him as they were leaving...right?" I questioned.

She took a second to say, "Me and Master went back to the tent before they left. But...what he said seems weird. Eh, it's probably nothing."

But to her words I just turned away, faintly raising one of the corners of my mouth. "Yeah..." I tried to smile. "For now, though...let's just enjoy a sight one could only appreciate at night," I smiled, presenting my words calmly. I then chuckled, realising I had rhymed without intending to.

**-ooo-**

"Oh, come on! J'st, just do it!" Izante scowled, annoyed at me.

She stood right in front of me as we were placed on the edge of the lake, our feet squishing the mud underneath our toes. She was desperate to get me into the water, because it was not often that we could take the time off to go swimming, but she knew that I was uncomfortable with it.

In response to her bleating, I shook my head frantically with a frightened face. "Why not? You too chicken?" my friend teased, and began to make clucking noises like a torchic. "Tooor! Chic-chic, tor!"

"Exactly!" I smirked, admitting it proudly. Izante lowered her eyebrows to form an unimpressed face, and when I was least expecting it, she rammed into me, sending me skidding across the mud and tumbling straight into the water. Luckily I managed to not get my head wet. I was surprised even further as I realised the fast drop into deep waters, which was only just away from the edge! My paws were kicking and waving about wildly, and I called out to her in distress.

"Relax!" she yelled back, smiling as if she had done nothing.

"RELAX?" I exclaimed, panicking. _'How could she say that at such a time?'_ "Izante, I'm a freakin' Fire type! I can't just _relax_ in water!"

"Just chill," she called to me. "Don't be a baby!"

"WHAT? Come on—get me out! Stop fooling around!" I squealed, binding my eyes in fear.

"Pfft, no!" Izante huffed with a rude tone. These were the times when I wished she had a better and friendlier attitude. "You'll be fine," she calmly stated, holding my charcoal eyes in her gaze.

**-ooo-**

Izante had succeeded. She had managed to get me back into the water without a kafuffle. I was almost comfortable in the lake, but the feeling of water rushing past me and slipping into unexpected places of my body – like under forelegs in that little ditch of skin and fur – was just creepy and weird. Despite the fact that I was too scared to put my head underwater, I felt pretty brave. Swimming had never been my strong point due to hating water, and when I was only little I had almost drowned in a lake much like this one. I had been rescued by my trainer. If she hadn't been there...I surely wouldn't have made it...

I waved my paws in front of me under the water one at a time, keeping myself afloat. I wasn't swaying them fast, but it was consistent. Izante was also swimming, and she seemed to do it like it was an everyday easy activity. Though to her, it probably was just as simple.

Izante always went swimming, and she wasn't even the slightest bit afraid of water. I found that strange, considering how I couldn't comprehend how I or any other pokémon could ever like the awful substance. "So, just why are you so scared of water? You're fine at swimming," she stated while paddling around me.

"I'm not fine," I corrected, "I'm just not drowning." I could feel the cool water passing around me steadily. I barely noticed the ripples that Izante caused to bump across the water's surface as she showed off.

"Get your head wet!" she insisted, suggesting that she was willing to do it for me.

"_NO_!"

"Come on, why not?" Izante continued to circle me almost mockingly.

"Why do you think? I don't _want_ to drown! And I don't wanna get my tuft wet!" I panicked, almost losing my focus on staying above the water level. "Also, I barely ever swim, so it's fine to be afraid."

Izante laughed cruelly. "Why would you drown?"

"Why? Well, simple. ...I'M A FIRE type! I don't swim!" I yelped, more playfully than angrily. Izante stopped for a second, as if pondering something. "D-don't even think about it!" I snapped.

She grinned. "Seems tempting. Maybe you sh—" Suddenly she paused, frowning slightly. She stayed silent. I frowned with concern. What was she doing? "Did you...did you hear that?" she asked slowly. I only panicked.

"What? Here what?" I frantically looked about, my eyes searching. There was nothing. "...I don't hear anything."

"Y-yeah—just listen," she instructed, waiting in angst as if expecting something. But then I did hear it. It was a faint rumble, but became louder and louder. Izante's attention was drawn completely to the noise, her eyes set on the bushes to the left of where we came.  
But then...it stopped. I tilted my head. I waited. "...Where did it—"

All of a sudden, a large dark blue pokémon came crashing through the bushes from where I had pounced on Izante! His long, sharp arms, which looked like powerful weapons, were terrifying, as well as the two red eyes coming out of either sides of his face. A tail protruding from his back-side pounded the ground angrily, the two rounded spikes on the end of it made it look like a dangerous tool.

With a threatening roar, the creature charged towards the water, targeting us. He appeared focused and dedicated to whatever he was doing, showing no fear or emotion.  
I shrieked and flicked my head to Izante. Her face represented both fear and seriousness. I imagined mine to be merely fear. If we were on land, then maybe I would think twice about being afraid. But I had hardly ever swam—I wasn't capable of a match in water! "I've battled one of these once. It's an armaldo!" Izante urgently spluttered. I groaned even at his name.

The beast stomped his way closer, and I knew I had to act fast. "Dusty! Swim!" Izante yelped. I nodded frantically, not daring to disagree, and began to unintentionally paddle towards the centre of the lake where I was vulnerable to predators. Not even the thought of foes in the water had crossed my mind. And only now I had thought about it. It was not very enlightening, nor pleasant.

Izante was in front of me, paddling away as I dawdled behind without meaning to. My struggle to keep up didn't do me much good, and I felt a pain in my stomach caused by the trauma. My paws were aching, I felt like I was sinking, and I was sure I had a few stitches. My large bushy tail was also dragging me down, and the extra weight of it was enough to slow down my already-slow pace. The strain wretched at my chest, and I felt like screaming.

I heard a splash behind me, and I squealed in agony. I knew that that thing was trying to get us, but I couldn't help but to wonder why. As far as I knew, I had done nothing bad, so this pokémon had no motivation!

The pokémon sped up, gaining more speed as he swam faster. _'Oh, great,'_ I thought, _'he has to be an expert at swimming too!'_ The soundless forest had become noisy as the armaldo splashed his way up to me, and from my back, he crossed his arms around me. I felt nothing but sheer fear as the long arms held me hostage and I was rendered helpless. I screamed at the top of my lungs, rattling the trees and disturbing all of the sleeping pokémon. The armaldo with sinister red eyes that glowed brightly in the night growled deeply. Assuming he was to drown out my alarming cries, the big pokémon sank into the water as he powered through the lake, not even giving me a chance to take a breath before doing so.

Just before I could no longer see above the water's level, my eyes darted to Izante's and I cried out her name as loud as I could, only to have it cut short. As my face hit the water, it was as if a whole ocean of fear swallowed me into its being. It rushed passed me, and I could barely open my eyes. The lake would probably have been see-through, but due to the fact that no sun shone this early in the morning, the water was almost pitch black at the depth that the armaldo had taken me—or at any depth!

Almost already out of breath, I was starting to struggle. The feeling of knowing that you are being abducted is one thing, but the feeling of knowing that you are being abducted and unable to breathe is absolutely traumatising. The only thing keeping me from fainting by now was that tiny burning flame alight in my mind that allowed me to think about that ounce of hope. I could still hope that Izante would come to my rescue. But with that realisation came the thought that I also needed to contribute.

With minimal amounts of strength, I faced the armaldo by looking straight up. The water made him hard to see, but I could make out his face. He didn't look at me; he was too busy streaming along his path.

But I had to attack him. For my sake. But how? How could I do it? I had enough intelligence to know that my fire wouldn't do me any good under water whatsoever, so I didn't even consider it. I couldn't use anything like skull bash... But maybe a bite attack would work.

I shut my eyes, feeling the pain of doing so seeing they had been open for a while underwater without me blinking. I could feel the sharp arms holding me too tight for my liking. They would be my target.

As the lake's contents spiralled towards me, my lips separated, making way for my strong teeth which managed to latch awkwardly onto the armaldo's tough skin.

With a yelp and a scowl, the Bug and Rock pokémon clenched me even tighter, slowing down a fraction, but planning not to set me free. However, if I did end up escaping his claws, there would be no chance of me getting away without being caught again—but I'd worry about that later. I snorted and bit down even harder, almost piercing the armour-like skin this time and allowing the loud sound of the armaldo's cries to burst into my ears—even underwater.

I could barely hear the pokémon shortly afterwards as he accidentally released his grip. But it was a good thing that he did—another few seconds without air and I was sure to pass out—or possibly even drown! Waving my paws to send back the water from around me was hard work, but I had to do it in order for me to catch a breath. I could feel my heart pounding over and over; it was so fast I couldn't count how many beats it did even if I tried! The need for air was crucial, and I could feel my lungs just about to escape through my throat. The feeling was horrible! I couldn't bear it any longer. I was going to give up. I was too far underwater.

As my paws slowed, so did my mind. Everything was ready to shut down. Even my heart seemed to stop beating.

Just as I was getting ready to pass, I felt a cool breeze on my forehead, and my ears popped. The sound of rushing water was no longer ringing in my ears. I was shocked—I had made it to the surface!

Opening my eyes, I gasped, inhaling breath after breath, absorbing the oxygen I felt had been gone for so long. _'This is the most relieving feeling I've felt in a long time!'_ I thought.

I panted repeatedly, overjoyed to finally have air in my system. It was overwhelming, but the thing I longed for so fondly now was land. To place my four paws onto a hard surface seemed like a thought of heaven at this point!

Shortly after I had regained my senses, my eyes pointed out Izante; the swimming leafeon was merely metres away. I wanted to reach out, but the energy seemed to be flushed out of me. I wanted to call to her, but my voice was slowly disappearing. I tried to focus on her, but my eyelids drooped in front of my eyes. I could no longer keep my head afloat...and my mind was...beginning to drift away...f-from reality...


	4. Chapter Four: The Capture

**Chapter Four: The Capture**

As I opened my eyes and awoke, I was surprised to find myself alive. All of the drama that had occurred in the water had almost wiped me out permanently—or so I thought.

The wet tuft of fur laid upon my head sagged in front of my face and into my eyes. My tail drooped with sogginess, and the rest of my fur was pressed firmly against my skin, giving me a cold chill and making me feel uncomfortable. I stood up and shook off, sending droplets of water spraying all over the place and causing my fur to puff up. I felt rather ridiculous, but I'd rather feel and look that way than be...wet.

My eyes scanned the area. _'Wait a sec... I'm not in water.'_ How had I possibly have washed up there? I looked out into the water which was only a few metres away. Had someone saved me? I had no idea... But glancing over both shoulders, I developed another question: where was that armaldo?

Disregarding this for a second, I weakly scrambled away from the water's edge to observe my surroundings. I had no clue where I was...or how I came to be there. In front of me was a large tree with thick, light grey bark. There were wood grains covering the tree which made it appear as if someone had spent days carving them all in. It was quite a scene. Even something so small managed to catch my attention and hold it for so long. But what mattered to me now was something else. Something of high importance and meaning to me.

Frantically I whizzed around, no longer facing the tree, alarming myself with a sudden thought.

I had no idea where Izante was.

Had she been the one to save me? If so, where did she disappear to? It bothered me that I was unaware of the beast's location, as well. He had dragged me under the water and tried to drown me. The memories were all too clear, and when it dawned on me that the two pokémon were both missing, I came to the conclusion that Izante may be the armaldo's prisoner now that I was not within reach. But there were pieces of the puzzle missing. Why would he have wanted to capture either of us? Did he want to save me from something? Did he want to drown me? Perhaps he was doing somebody's dirty work for them. Pokémon were used like that too often. It could have been very possible.

Trying to think my way into the answer, I sat down to ponder further. But before I was going to collect the missing pieces so I could glue them back together again, I had to do something. First things first. I needed to find Izante and the armaldo. If they were together, who knows what would happen—and where they could be. _'Maybe Izante is fighting him right now,'_ I thought with concern. "And I should be the one to save her!" I declared, deciding for myself. Maybe it wasn't the best way to go about things for me, but I wanted to know that she was alright. I also wanted to make sure that that rotten pokémon wasn't attempting to chew her up and spit her out. Or worse—swallow her! "Izante!" I called out into the early morning. I figured it would be the best way to allow her to hear me. However, as I repeated her name several times, I received no reply—from her, anyway.

All of a sudden, a tiny, squeaky voice made me jump. It said something that alarmed me, and then again. "Oi! Some of us normal pokémon are tryin' to sleep, you know!" someone ranted. I could tell she was someone very angry just by her tone. I spun around, facing the tree once again. What I hadn't noticed before was a small gaping hole at its base. And out of it had scurried a small figure. She had a squirrel-like white body that was probably quite agile. Her tiny blue ears twitched with annoyance when she spoke, and the single tooth that stuck out of her mouth was frustratingly distracting. Her large tail was probably mostly fluff, as it seemed not to weigh her down at all.

"Sorry," I sighed, looking about, "I need to fi—"

"Yeah, yeah! I don't care about your stupid personal life. Just shut your trap so we can sleep!" she huffed as she growled in anger and exhaustion. What that rude pachirisu had just yelled at me made me frown. I just turned away, not interested in a lecture. I had no time for such petty nonsense. If I was going to look for Izante, I would have to make haste. We needed to get back to our masters. I knew they would be upset if they awoke to find us missing. And if they attempted to search for us, they could end up in the same position as me!

"Hey!" that same annoying voice interrupted. I rolled my eyes, and my face grew a furry frown once again. "Did you even hear what I said? Flareon?" Impatience filled the tiny pokémon's voice as I ignored her once again.

"Would you shut up?" I exclaimed, turning back around after I received no reply. Instead, the electric squirrel pokémon puffed her chest...and she started again. As the pachirisu's ranting began once more, my nose twitched with aggravation. I swung my head around again, so I was up close to her face. "Are you asking to be fried?" I hissed, feeling the spit slip through my gritted teeth and onto the pokémon in front of me.

She seemed to be offended, and huffed, her chest large and puffy. "Don't you speak to me li—" started the pest, but was abruptly cut off by the stream of fire I released.

She jumped back, both shocked and upset about the humiliation. She choked for a second, but got back on track. The little pokémon bounded her way back into her hole with a furrowed brow. And at that I snorted. "Looks to me like she could have used that," I murmured, rolling my eyes. "Pesky brat."

"_Ahh_! Let me _go_!" a voice protested. But not just any voice—a voice I would recognise from kilometres away.

"Izante," I whispered. "Izante!" My fluffy body took off towards the distressful cries just moments away. Into the bushes I flew, determined to seek her out. "I'm coming!" I called. Whilst my paws swept beneath my body, I sneered, imagining how hot I could make the flames that would swallow the armaldo. I burst through a bunch of leaves that scratched at and brushed against me. One tickled my ear on the way past, making it flicker.

I landed with a soft thud on the earth covered with forest floor underlay. In doing so, I attracted a great pokémon's attention, as well as a familiar friend's. The armaldo stood high, metres in front of me, with Izante hauled over his shoulders to face over his back, rather than having the same view as her pokénapper. The large pokémon was clenching her tightly, and it was clear that he had the experience to be able to control her movement. Noticeably, Izante could not set herself free, and was very possibly injured.

"Woah," I mumbled, a little shocked at what I was seeing. My friend lifted her head, managing to see over her shoulder and past the armaldo. She was in an awkward position, and probably found it difficult to turn and face me because of it.

"Dusty?" she exclaimed, obviously not expecting to see me. "Get away! It'll come after you!" The leafeon sounded urgent and bothered—because she was!

"I'm not leaving you!" I answered, scoffing. It was true, and I was sick of untrustworthy pokémon. It was time to right some wrongs before it was too late! "Alright, you overgrown fossil—you're goin' down!" My body sprung forwards, aimed at my friend's captor. I saw a type of fury and determination within the armaldo's eyes which frightened me. However, it didn't distract me, nor did it contribute to the fact that the armaldo counter-attacked my leap with his heavy tail, which slammed into my belly. I felt the pain spread, and I was physically sent flying metres away from my best friend. I had become completely winded; the oxygen was knocked clean out of me.

As I slammed onto the stony ground, I could not breathe, and I was beginning to relive my memories in the water. Luckily it didn't last for more than five seconds, and in no time, I had regained the strength to hold my position on my four paws. Although I was already beginning to run out of energy, due to the small amount of time I was allowed to recover from my scene in the water, I still had the will to fight. "Take...this!" I called viciously to the armaldo, spewing up poison after feeling a toxic bubbling inside. The purple poison swallowed my foe, almost causing him to drop Izante. He managed to hold his grip, but the pokémon also seemed somewhat affected by the attack.

Unexpectedly my foe charged up, looking as if he was building power, and summoned small, jiggered rocks to swarm around him. He took off towards me, preparing something big. I watched in awe as the rocks flew along with armaldo as he charged at me, Izante still in place over his shoulder.

A scream was coming from the leafeon's mouth as well as some confused words as she was taken with the armaldo to attack me. And from then it all happened too fast. With great power, my enemy and I collided, the rocks brutally injuring me as the main attack.  
I had never experienced an ancientpower attack...until then.

**-ooo-**

I was carried to a campsite by the armaldo. Izante and I both were. All around us were people wearing black uniforms and most of them were followed by a cream coloured cat-like pokémon with coiling tails that were half brown—like their hind paws. Several of them were transporting cages – which held pokémon for some reason – and dumped them into openings in machines on wheels, whereas others were shifting different containers of various sizes. Many more were standing around, guarding the exits with solid and heavy weapons that required two hands to support.

The dirt appeared infertile and unnaturally mixed with muck, and there was countless packaging scattered around both the ground and caught in bushes. It was a foul sight, and I wouldn't be surprised if I was to pick out not one wild pokémon.

The armaldo had dropped Izante and had put her with a female human who appeared to interrogate her with the help of her meowth. However, I was left upon his shoulder, facing the way he was facing, for another minute or two before another human approached. In the meantime I tried to make out what the woman was saying to my leafeon friend, and right before I was released I noticed an older looking man approached her and mumbled something to the female human. Izante was then led – or forced – away with them both.

As the leafeon disappeared from my view, I was carelessly tossed across the bumpy ground, scuffing my thin coat of fur and jingling my chingling bell a few times over. I landed at the feet of a suspicious human male who sneered at me. The human wore a black cloth covering his front, and other black material around his hind legs. A black rounded piece of cloth also fitted his head. On the designed piece of cloth that stretched across torso, there was a dark pink logo which looked like one of the human race's markings that they use to write with.

The man was thinly built and didn't appear at all pleasant. There was a particular feeling about him; a bad one. A grouchy expression was printed on his bare face, but he also looked almost happy to see me in front of him...defenceless, vulnerable, and without my master.

Then I realised something. I gasped, witnessing the human grin darkly in response. The familiar scent, the recurring expressions, the suspicious feeling... I knew I recognised it! This was the man whose pokémon Izante and I battled hours before!

The human was suddenly called by one of his colleagues, so he quickly walked away, standing only a few metres from me. I felt adrenaline begin to flare up as I thought I would have a chance at escape, but before I let myself take off, a female meowth that was accompanying the man blocked my way. Her greasy grin was discomforting as the whiskers on her face twitched. In between two whiskers on the top of her head was a golden, oval-shaped coin that shined in the dim, man-made light surrounding. Her large eyes were not very friendly-looking, each with pupils like slits.

She laughed, and I assumed she read my actions. "Y' think you can escape?" she questioned, speaking in the humans' language. Master used the same dialect, so it was easy for me to understand—but it was a surprise to hear her using it.

I had heard a rumour a while ago about a particular group of meowth. Ever since there was a first one to speak English, some humans (which I now presumed to be the ones wearing black clothes) discovered that the cat pokémon were capable of learning it. In time, they managed to breed an entirely different race of meowth which were trained to speak only human, which I didn't understand the use of until recent minutes. They were translators.

But not only had these people trained their meowth to speak human, but also to stand on their hind legs at all times—except when sitting or sleeping. The majority of meowth I had both met and battled with had walked on all-fours. To see so many of these pokémon at once like this seemed strange—not to mention cruel. It was unnatural and just proved how selfish certain groups of humans could be...

I snapped out of my thoughts as the Normal type glanced over her shoulder, and it struck me then to try to make a break for it—or to at least find Izante. So, with the assistance of my quick attack, I dashed past the pokémon and left behind a slightly dazed scratch cat pokémon. The screech she emitted alerted a collection of humans and other pokémon, and I noticed frantic glances settling upon me as captured pokémon noticed my attempt at freedom.

However, just as I spotted Izante – who was, for some reason, eating from a bowl provided by a nearby female human behind one of their vehicles – I was apprehended. I barely had time to register what had happened as I felt a heavy body pinning me down and growling in my ears. I fought to find Izante again with my eyes, but the leafeon was gone and only the bowl and the human remained, leaving me considerably confused.

In no time at all I had been brought back to where I was previously where Roarake's 'trainer' and his meowth were, as well as a number of new humans and their pokémon—probably to ensure I didn't try to escape again.

"Well, well, well! It's the _flareon from the battle_," the horrid man began, and I was thrown to the ground by the pokémon who had caught me. I stood up and shook off, baring my fangs at all the surrounding figures. "Your ignorance got the better of you! You thought you could escape?" He let out a cruel laugh and signalled for the extra guards to return to where they had been. "We haven't had one of your kind before. You should be honoured," the man told me in human language.

In response I sprung backwards to be away from him. I spread my legs apart, lowering my head and growling deeply. That wretched armaldo stomped behind me, obstructing my backwards exit. However...I wouldn't try to escape again. The beast had worn me out from the beating I received from him earlier, and the attempt I made only moments ago had been futile and tiring. Besides, it would mean leaving Izante to deal with everything herself. I simply did not have the energy, or even the will for that matter. My exits were sealed and there were far too many guards...

The human male just smirked, raising his head with a frown and a heartless smile. His meowth snarled, teasing me with the swaying of her body and jiggle of her tail. "Team Rocket rules!" she mouthed to me.

"You will be loyal to us!" snapped the human, attempting to intimidate me while spraying me with his spit. "Team Rocket officially owns you from now on!" Next to him, the Rocket's meowth stood with a satisfied look on her face.

I blinked it utter disgust. _'Who does he think he is?'_ my mind roared at me. I grew hot, wanting to fry him. It wasn't fair to do this! I felt furious! I spat at the jerk, my saliva splattering on his left foot which was shrouded with another human material. "I'm loyal to nobody but my master! I'd never give respect to a low-life like you!" I hissed, wishing the human could understand.

I saw the meowth chuckle, and shifted my angry gaze to her. "Uh-oh, you're in f'r it now!"

"Meowth! What did it say?" grunted the Rocket man impatiently. His soulless eyes left mine and met those of his meowth's. His female pokémon snorted, and her whiskers twitched.

"You ain't gonna like dis, boss! Dis little fire-fox here says dat she ain't loyal to nobody 'cept her master." Meowth snickered, blowing through her nose afterward in a miniature laugh. She looked as if she wanted to see me suffer the consequences. I growled back at her. "She also says dat she ain't payin' no respect to a low-life like y'self. Not dat ya are one or anytin'."

The Team Rocket human glared at me, his face looking ugly with frustration. I winced slightly as he streaked the back of a furless paw across my face. To be verbally harassed by a human was one thing, but being beat by one was another...even just a mere slap! As well as being humiliating, it was wrong. I immediately felt how Roarake must have felt...

I listened to the meowth's rotten cackle while my head stayed in the position it had been forced into by the slap. I tried contemplating my decisions, but nothing came to mind. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't believe my situation. It was so...insane. I could only glower with hateful emotion as I felt myself unable to attack due to known consequences.

I had officially been captured...and there was nothing in my power that I could do about it.


	5. Chapter Five: Boxed and Caged

This is the last chapter that's painfully short! 8D Well, there's one short one in a few chapters' time, but apart from that, the chapters get longer at chapter 6. THANKS FOR READING. I'D GIVE YOU A BEAR HUG IF I KNEW WHO YOU WERE (a.k.a. if you leave a review!). *hint hint*

**Chapter five: Boxed and Caged**

I couldn't help but to feel miserable. The capture had made me feel unwell and shaky.

The fact that I was being transported away from my master pushed me into feeling even more dreadful. Although Izante being with me had altered my thinking slightly and drove me into slight relief, I was still not nearly comforted enough to change my down-in-the-dumps mood. I didn't know whether she shared my emotions or not, and I was not very keen to find out. If she felt the same way as I did, that would merely make matters worse, and I would feel even more upset. But I would have to cheer up sometime if I was going to think up a plan for escape. There was no way that my brain would be able to function properly if it had no proper stimulation or determination flowing through it.

We had been at the little camp for another day after we were moved again. The time we spent at there was when we were in cages separate from one another, barely able to hear the pokémon next door. Team Rocket had treated us like we were lower than dirt and all we could do in return was growl at them in our hopeless cooped up state. There were a lot of other pokémon, but the men had set out all the cages to be far away from one another so that we could not communicate, and so that we were purposely isolated.

Every now and again, the Team Rocket men had strut past me with mocking grins and smirks on their faces merely to spite me. One even poked his fingers into the cage in an attempt to torment me. However, since the only feeling I had been experiencing was anger, I automatically snapped at them, slicing through one with ease. The moment after I did so, I realised I would have effortlessly been able to take a finger off.

"ARRGGHH! You beast!" he had screamed, a hideous expression upon his face. "Poliwhirl," he had called, withdrawing a poké ball from his tattered black belt. "Water gun!"

Landing on the ground in front of my cage, the dark blue pokémon with a swirl on his belly shot a stream of water out through the centre of his body, and it came gushing onto my devastated face. I had screeched at the shock of the attack, spluttering and spitting. I'd known I had to endure it until it was over, so that was what I had done.

When the attack had finally broken off, my drenched body appeared small and feeble. An attack like that may have been simple, but it had hurt! I shook off and growled at the man. I knew that he couldn't differentiate between the tears streaming down my face and the water dribbling from every strand of my fur as he jeered and stumbled away.

"And that's why you shouldn't mess with Team Rocket!" he smirked, picking up a stone and tossing it at my forehead. I winced and drew my head back, huddling at the back of the cage. I had _felt_ my eyes flickering with fear. My loud exhaling had become a sign of fury as my whole body trembled. I could not understand how these awful people could do this to pokémon. All of the trainers I had ever met were kind and they loved their pokémon... Well, maybe not all, but most of them. And what did these horrid humans do? Attack innocent pokémon, dragging them from their loved ones. I hope they knew...they wouldn't get away with it.

**-ooo-**

I sat in a steel cage inside a moving van—a large metal human form of transport that moved with wheels. Izante, a marill, a drifloon and a sandslash were in the same compact space as me. I had been in the same spot for three days without food, and only a small amount of water which the Rockets had supplied us with. The rest of it was thanks to the marill. When we drank the liquid generated by the water pokémon, it had been slimy. I had felt the fluid flush throughout my system, and it tasted like salty...spit. Every time I swallowed it, I couldn't help shivering with disgust. It would have been a whole lot better to be used as a substance for cooling off with. But it wasn't. And I had to deal with it if it was nearly all that I had.

Thinking everything over, I raised my head slightly to see another cage nearby. It contained the marill and his drifloon friend. The cage next to it held a sandslash captive. They were all victims of being captured, along with me and Izante. They all belonged to the same trainer. I figured that they had all been taken at once, and were stolen for the same reasons we had been...which had not been set in concrete yet.

The sandslash, who I had overheard was called Wulua, was an irritated and a bully of a pokémon. He had displayed this by sitting around, fiddling with his sharp claws and pondering over how let he let himself be caught—and bullying the marill.

The marill, Koi, was a little male water pokémon. He often took deep breaths to calm himself, and apparently loved rolling around on the ground absent-mindedly. He was not very old by the looks of him, and didn't seem to have matured yet, either. His intelligence wasn't very high, and I suspected he was born as a marill rather than an azurill.

The floating balloon pokémon called herself Vesp. She was very quiet, but once I had been around her long enough, I would describe her as friendly.

"Are we there yet?" a small voice asked restlessly. My eyes scanned across the small room. A rounded blue body was rolling along the floor inside metal bars not too far away from me. The white patch on his stomach was appearing and then disappearing as he rolled. His black crinkled tail was big for his size, and ended in a blue bobble.

Making the decision not to reply, I merely shifted my gaze to the floor. There was a black spec of dirt placed in between my two eyes' stare, and it caught my gaze long enough for me to zone out a little.

"No, Koi. Can't you tell?" a rough voice snapped, and I heard claws clicking against a metal surface as he must have paced his paws on the floor.

"I wasn't talking to you, Wulua!" Koi retorted, a child-like tone to his voice. As I moved my eyes to his face, I saw that he had crossed his arms.

"Your point?"

"It means you can't answer!"

"Oh, really? Answer, answer, answer, answer. Are you gonna arrest me now?" smirked the ground type. Frankly I found him to be just as childish as the marill.

"...What's 'arrest'?" Koi asked Vesp, cocked his body to one side.

"'What's arrest'? You're dumber than I thought!" Wulua mockingly sniggered. He got to his feet as his restlessness grew.

"Wulua, leave him alone..." Vesp intervened, looking at him with a frown.

"Well I'm SOR-RY!" came a sarcastic voice. Koi snorted at him.

"You should be!"

"Oh, go play with your liquids, water boy!"

"Go and dig a hole, you meanie!" he shouted back.

"We're nowhere near dirt, blubber head! Sheesh, I thought all pokémon had brains until I met you!" Wulua hissed. Still watching, I observed what happened next.

Very rapidly, Koi had grown a wobbly upside-down smile, and his nose began to twitch. His breathing had become slightly heavier, and tears began to gather at the bottoms of his little eyes.

All of a sudden, the water pokémon burst out into tears, and turned around to find himself being hugged by Vesp's string-like arms with little yellow hearts on the tips. Her purple balloon-like body was not too big, but provided comfort for Koi as he bawled his eyes out. I felt sorry for the little fella.

"What did you do that for, Wulua?" Vesp questioned, throwing a hard glance at the sandslash that was leaning against the bars of his cage. His yellow body stood out against the dark wall behind him, but his black eyes blended in perfectly. His thick, brown spikes located on his back sagged a little as he was pressed against the wall.

"Eh, felt like it," he muttered, sounding a little proud.

"Do you think this is a joke, Wulua?" the drifloon started. She was obviously not impressed.

"Being captured is bad enough. A little marill having to deal with that as well as a bigger pokémon teasing him is not good. And far too much for someone of his age!" she scolded, clutching Koi tightly. The little marill moved his body in the sandslash's direction. With a helpless frown, Koi's mouth continued to tremble.

"What are you, my mother?" Wulua laughed. By looking at her face, I could tell that Vesp had had enough.

"I could start acting like it," she replied calmly.

"Go ahead! And why don't you put on some spikes while you're at it?"

From here, I couldn't stand it any longer. Those three bickering made me so agitated! They'd been going on for the past...what, three days? Couldn't they give it a rest already? "Guys! Stop it!" I yelled, eying the two pokémon in the other cages.

"Your arguing isn't making anything easier! J'st...chill!" growled Izante, her eyes averted in order to avoid visual contact. She didn't much like confrontations.

"Oh, great," Wulua sighed gruffly, "another pair of—"

"Would you just _shut up_?" I hissed, feeling embers sizzling inside. They felt about ready to leak between my teeth as invisible smoke stung my eyes. "We're in _cages_, for Entei's sake! You're ruining any...drop of hope we have, Wulua! And, Vesp, I know you're trying to help, but you're just making it worse!" I explained with a hard scowl, rising to my feet.

Izante looked about to agree, but she contained herself and just growled impatiently. A small chuckle came from nearby, not surprised it was the sandshrew evolution as I swerved my head.

"And what are you gonna—"

In a split second, a gushing stream of water shot directly into Wulua's face, causing him to splutter and spit. I stared wide-eyed and trailed it back to where it had come from. Koi was the water's source.

When the attack stopped, I could have sworn Wulua was about to cut Koi in half – despite the fact that they were in separate prisons – when suddenly, we were thrown across our cages and bashed into the walls.

We had all screamed and tumbled, feeling limbs poke through gaps in the metal, Vesp still clutching Koi. Several thumps and bangs sounded as I realised the moving humans' vehicle had come to a stop.

I moaned, heaving myself to my feet again. The cage had turned onto its side, and it seemed to become smaller.

"What the hell?" Wulua blurted. Obviously he didn't quite know what was going on. Although, he wasn't the only one.

There was a bright light before something hairy reached towards us. The light was blinding, and I found it difficult to focus after it bounced off my face. The spot-light shone on us all, and hissing could be heard as most of us recoiled into the unrealistic depths of the cages. The hairy thing baring the light was found to be an arm—a human arm. With a few grunts and murmurs, the human clicked a switch on his item. Somehow, the light dimmed and disappeared, almost like it had been sucked back into the contraption.

I looked at the other pokémon. Izante seemed to be upset and growling, Koi was huddling up with Vesp, and Wulua spat while covering his eyes with one of his strong, yellow arms. Next, a big man stepped into the room, and stuck his fingers inside Izante's cage whilst lifting it up. Izante stumbled, and looked as if she found it difficult to balance.

"Hey!" I yipped, the man merely looking in my direction. I head-butted the cage bars blocking my way, but nothing happened. It was useless! I tried firing a stream of hot flames at the man, and he yelled and backed off—but still held onto Izante's cage. He then pulled out some sort of small device, and neared me with a bushy frown on his face. I huddled to the back of my small enclosure and rumbled. However, it didn't stop him from sticking the device in between the bars, about a hair away from touching me, and pressed a button.

Unexpectedly, my whole body stung with pain, and a sizzling sound came from my fur. "Ahh-aaahhh!" I screamed. This was unlike any pikachu's thunderbolt attack! The pain surged through me, and I could only imagine that the other pokémon watched with shocked expressions. Hopefully this would keep them from being as careless as I was.

I slumped on the floor of the cage, my fur bristling and my painting notable. The smell of electricity popped near my nose, and suddenly my body began chattering. I felt paralysed. The man smirked with a face of satisfaction, and continued out with the cage that had Izante in it. Before she disappeared through the opening, she looked at me with certain sadness. Her ears poked through the sides, between the metal bars, and it was blatantly obvious that the cage was barely big enough for the rest of her body. I tried desperately to cry out, but the best I could manage was a flicker of my lips and a hushed groan. My delicate hope was hanging by a thread as it marched behind the man with Izante's cage, and before she completely disappeared, the leafeon's turned away.

Soon enough, all of the cages were being carried by men all dressed the same. My large and bushy tail was poking out of all cracks in the cage I was in, and I was beginning to regain feeling in my legs again. Soon enough I was in full control once again, but I soon realised I was unable to stand due to the roughness of the man's handling. Every time I tried to get onto my paws, I would be knocked straight back down again. It was another thing that made me feel helpless and weak.

I decided to pay attention to where I was being taken, so I looked ahead at the path in front of me. And it was astounding.

Hundreds of men, wearing _the same black outfits_, swarmed the area. They were everywhere! Their dirty clothing and hard faces told me they were all the same; they were followers of one another.

Apparently this area was the shore to the ocean, which stretched as far as my eyes could see. The men were all carrying one cage or more, which all held pokémon. Trees were scattered everywhere, because it was the edge of the forest, but the dirt was stale and dry. Nothing attractive grew—what vegetation there appeared to be was dry and soulless. Much like the humans themselves. _'This must be where their proper camp is...'_ I thought. Tents and human vehicles also occupied the premises, which supported my guessed theory.

One man, far ahead to the left, was holding a sneasel captive. She was a small, dark-coloured pokémon with one of her ears coloured pink—which was longer than the other one. The claws on her arms – two on each paw – looked sharp and deadly, while the two on her stout legs were no more than pins. A circular yellow orb both on her forehead and her chest glistened as she swayed by her carrier's side, and three pink feather-like tails protruded from her lower back.

She hissed and swiped at her captor, nicking his shirt and tearing through it easier than a magikarp could lose a battle. The Team Rocket guy shrieked, dropping the cage. He cursed and yelled at the pokémon, kicking her cage several times to send it tumbling. The dark and ice type seemed to shake it off, looking hardly affected, and resumed her attempt to shatter the cage. The man then reached into his pocket and revealed the same device that shocked me into paralysis. I clenched my teeth.

_'Oh no...' _I thought as another bump from my carrier threw me over.

The man, completely without hesitation, shoved the electronic weapon in through a hole in the cage, and I watched in horror as the dual-typed pokémon sizzled and cried out in pain. I seriously thought that the man held his hand there for an entire minute, and after he _finally_ stopped, the sneasel fell to her paws and knees. She cringed. "Learned your lesson yet?" The Team Rocket man prodded the sneasel with the device, then pressed the button once more. For absolutely no reason whatsoever, the man shocked the pokémon for a second time, and sniggered at her suffering.

I boiled inside. He kept at it, and soon he was shocking the sneasel even after she had stopped moving. I couldn't help but to imagine her pain... It must have been excruciating considering she probably had no strength due to the poor conditions we were forced to survive in! And to be punished for wanting to return to her master sickened me, and stirred up my mind. If I could, I would have leaped to the pokémon's rescue and happily defeated the man. But in my current state, it was clearly impossible—an unattainable goal.

Even if I did manage to break out of my cage, there was no way I would stand a chance against the number of enemies here. There were far too many bad humans in this place to even consider my chances...


	6. Chapter Six: High Seas

Yo! This is, finally, the start of my longer chapters. Just thought to let you know. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter Six: High Seas

I had my mind taken off the sneasel as I finally reached my destination: a huge wooden crate. It was aboard a giant ship, which held nineteen more of these—according to the man carrying me.

The man brought the cage up to his face, reached a fat hand in, and ripped off my most valuable possession: _my chingling collar_. My neck jerked down as he did so, and shortly after, the pain kicked in. He smiled greasily as he threw it to the ground, and I watched as he crushed it with his foot.

My eyes clouded over with fury. "My master bought that for me! How _dare_ you!" I shouted at the human as he threw me into the crate, my cage scraping along the bottom and my fur getting caught between the metal and the wood. I knocked my head on the solid surface, and I screamed as one of my ears became wedged between my cage and the cage I had smashed into.

"You won't be gettin' outta _there_!" the man called, thankfully exiting the scene.

I whimpered as I felt the pain in my ear, and attempted to find a way to free it. I tugged at it once, but immediately regretted it as the pain surged through my ear. Deciding to endure the pain and keep pulling, I shut my weary eyes tightly. But it was no use, and for the sake of my pounding pain, I had to stop pulling. 

I panted, my eyes still closed. I leaned my head against the metal bars as my limbs tensed under me. Just when I told myself I'd have to adapt to a trip forcing my trapped ear in place, I began to feel something strange. My eyes opened, revealing the scene before me. The wooden crate was turning! However, it only took me a few seconds to realise that it was me moving, not it! _'Duh.'_ I was turned over and my ear became free as I fell onto my left side with a thud. I shook my head, blinked a few times, and pushed myself up onto my paws again. My ear was finally unstuck, which made a feeling of relief relax my shoulders, and it didn't take me long to wonder why. I turned to my right to investigate the reason for my fall, as I certainly hadn't done it myself.

"S-sorry about the tumble," apologised the pokémon inside the cage I was staring at. He seemed to shrink as he mumbled quietly, "I had to do it to get your ear free." A smallish dinosaur-like pokémon had his long, green vines out. They trailed back to a giant bulb that rested on the pokémon's back, which was also green. He had a large head with two triangle shaped eyes holding red irises. The pokémon was a light shade of blue with a tinge of green, and had darker green patches scattered in random places. He gave me a nervous smile as he waited to be either thanked or scolded—for whatever reason.

Looking this pokémon up and down, I recognised him as a 'bulbasaur'. A few young pokémon trainers in the Kanto region would have them from the start of their journey. Commonly they would also have either an orange lizard pokémon who stood on two feet, or a cheeky blue turtle pokémon who was bald.

"That's...alright," I murmured. I was a little too focused on my pain to bother about giving a reasonable response to the stranger. However, he did do me a favour. "...And thanks," I mentioned. He nodded shyly and sat his rump on the floor.

"Do you know...what's happening?" I asked after a moment of silence. It was only then when I noticed we, along with about five others, were the only pokémon in the giant crate.

"I'm sorry...but I don't know," he mumbled. To this reply, I sighed heavily and tried to figure out why, in fact, we were being imprisoned. "But I think we have been captured, sorry to say. One second I was with my trainer...but now I'm here. The humans treated me roughly and without care. I'm...I'm scared of them," the bulbasaur trembled, the fear in his eyes stressing his youth and timid nature.

"If they try to hurt you, you could use your vines to hold their arms or trip them over." I gave him a faint smile. "Don't be afraid of them."

"B-but...they have those shocking things. A-and, us, as pokémon, aren't supposed to attack humans. We're bad if we attack them." The bulbasaur had a panicking quality to his voice, and it showed as his fear began to speak for him.

"I believe that we're allowed to attack them for our own self-defence. Just remember that the humans have no right to abuse us..." It felt weird thinking about abusive humans. I had only ever come across ones loyal to their pokémon, and in return their pokémon were loyal to them. Master never once mistreated me, and prior to now I hadn't necessarily believed in humans such as the ones working for this 'Team Rocket'.

I flinched as seven more cages were hurled into the crate, their occupants shrieking and crying out as they bounced against the hard wooden floor and metal of their cages. I flinched as every cage crashed to the floor; as every innocent, helpless pokémon were harmed. It began to build up. These pokémon were being hurt. "Bulbasaur!" I cried to the alarmed pokémon in the cage beside me. He looked me in the eyes with a frightened expression. "Use your vines to catch the cages!"

"B-but...that might hurt me! I-I'm sorry...I don't think I can do it," he retorted grimly.

"Would you rather _try_ to help other pokémon with a small risk of you being _slightly_ injured?" I snapped, my fur straightening out. I then blinked, as did the bulbasaur. I was getting pushy—and angry.

Another scream came closer as a different member of Team Rocket flung a cage in towards the other cages containing pokémon.

"Ahh! Quick! Catch that nidoran!" I pleaded, unable to stand another crash and shriek.

Long, green, almost string-like vines rapidly extended from under the bulbasaur's bulb, and they stopped at the guessed landing spot of the cage. The cage continued through the air until it hit the vines, but as it did, both the cage and its supposed stopper plunged into the floor of the wooden crate, and the grass type pokémon beside me bellowed with a distressed cry.

'_Aw, geez—this kid is hopeless!'_ I thought to myself as tears began to well in my neighbour's eyes. His large mouth continued to let out an ear-piercing yell as I found myself feeling sorry for him, since it _was_ my fault.

"Lift them up! You have to lift them up to free yourself!" I shouted at the bulbasaur, who was traumatized. It took few seconds to process, but the pokémon obeyed me as he heaved his thin vines up, standing the nidoran's cage upright.

The vines dropped and retreated to their bulb as the bulbasaur continued to blubber. "Oowww!" he whined. I could see that I had given him the wrong instructions. Maybe he was just too young to take the pressure and physical weight.

"Look..." I sighed impatiently, gathering myself. "I'm sorry. I got a little paranoid," I guiltily explained.

I heard the bulbasaur beside me sniff and stop crying. He drew his vines near and inspected them. To me they seemed fine. It was probably just shock that affected the bulbasaur so.

"I'm...I'm alright," he sniffed. "I forgive you, flareon. I think I was doing it wrong..." he replied with a red face.

"Dusty. M-my name's Dusty," I corrected. "My idea of catching the cages was to grab them while they were still airborne. It wouldn't cause you any pain that way."

"Oh...okay." He seemed to lessen the sadness about him. "I can try that... But, my name's Sed. It was the name my trainer gave me."

"...Same. I was given to Master too early to have a name before-hand. She raised me since I was just a pup."

"Oh. I've only been with my trainer for two weeks and...three days. He's the only family I got," Sed mentioned forlornly.

'_It must be terrible,'_ I thought with sympathy. _'He's only been with his trainer for two weeks, and he's already been separated from him...'_

However, my thoughts were taken elsewhere as I heard another human approach. My ears perked up and stood high on my head as I stared with great interest at the entrance to the crate. "Sed..."

"I think I know what to do now."

I turned to him. He gave a reassuring, cheek-raising expression. "You can do it. Just remember: catch them while they're in flight," I prompted. I shifted my paws to a more comfortable position as I watched in slight anticipation for a metal-barred box to enter the huge wooden crate at an unexpected speed. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Sed answered. His focus was kind of questionable at first, but as the cage was tossed in towards us, he really proved himself as the vines reached out and caught the cage with little effort. The pokémon inside it opened her eyes after having them closed, and cheered as Sed set the cage down in front of us.

The pokémon's body was a faint yellow colour, except for half of her ears, paws, cheeks and tail—which were all red. There was a cross pattern on her red cheeks, and her tail was shaped the same way. "Thanks for catching me!" she happily sung—or, at least, as happy as one could get given the situation.

"That's okay. Glad...to help out," Sed shyly responded.

"Incoming!" I broke the happy moment with my sudden word, my eyes trailing the new cube.

Sed looked past the plusle's cage, hearing a grunt before another cage soared through the air. With a determined look on his greenish face, the bulbasaur outstretched his handy vines and snatched the cage out of the air.

I smiled both on the inside and the out. He was getting better! And with every new catch, Sed became more and more confident about his selfless actions, and he was swiping the cages one after another with reasonable ease. And pokémon after pokémon, I could see that he was happy with himself for doing something good.

**-ooo-**

Brown eyes set at half-mast in the far corner of the crate were locked on the two vines' movement. The pupils moved back and forth as the vines caught and placed down each pokémon cage that was carelessly thrown into the wooden prison one at a time. The eyes belonged to a dark face which was somewhat rounded. A very small smile was placed at the bottom of the muzzle, which completed the being's unreadable expression. Further up the face, past the eyes, were two smallish ears which match the eyes in size, and were also dark. His body was long and slender, and ended roundly and without a tail. The top half of the body, including most of the muzzle, was dark green—which was often mistaken for black. His underbelly and limbs were yellow, however. Two oval-shaped red polka dots were between his ears, and they showed up quite clearly. The same sort of spots appeared in a group of three at the rear—before the dark green colour rounded off and turned to a light, faded yellow.

The pokémon was sitting down, his front paws out in front while its chest sat up. "Hmm," he began, "seems like this bulbasaur's confidence has grown..." His theory was supported as the vines caught yet another cage which was about to collide with a different one on the floor. "Impressive... But he's not the one with the brainy ideas. That flareon is instructing him... I wonder where she's from."

"I doubt it's near," interrupted a voice that came from behind him. "That flareon's not from around here..."

The quilava moved his head coolly towards whoever spoke to him. He noticed a light blue body seated in about the same position as himself, who had long ears and a darker blue almost hat-like head piece. There were the same dark coloured blue socks on all of her paws, and she had dark blue marks on her back. Her swishing tail looked the same as two appendages coming from her headpiece, which ended in a darker blue diamond and drooped down on either sides of her face. She was a glaceon.

"Good observation," the pokémon mentioned in response, looking back briefly.

Seconds went by, and the two pokémon continued to watch the green vines move around. However, one of the pokémon was getting impatient, her agitation growing by the moment. "Raiys!" the pokémon snapped. The pokémon she was talking to didn't seem to flinch at all. "When are we getting out of here? I'm tired of being held in these cages, and it's not necessary."

"Soon enough, Azure. Once the humans load up the crate completely, we can break free."

"We shouldn't have to escape," she growled.

"While at it...we should also free the other pokémon."

"What? Why should we? They're all just insignificant strangers," Azure hissed, "and it's not part of our mission! As a matter of fact, being in _here_ isn't part of the mission, either!"

"We could _use_ their help. This capture is merely a minor hold up. And we're quitting. Or have you forgotten?"

The glaceon narrowed her eyes. "No, I have not! Our last mission is to hunt that pokémon down and report his whereabouts. We should see to it instead of being held hostage."

"Yes. After that...you and I part ways," Raiys murmured. "I assume that you'll be returning to your co—"

"Working with you has been a pleasure," she muttered hastily. "Now let's break free! Why do we have to wait?!"

"Calm yourself. Your icy body might melt if you grow any hotter with agitation. You could use some of that energy to help me set some pokémon free instead." Raiys still kept his cool, speaking with a calm tone.

"I _told _you—we don't _need_ their help!"

"We need all the help we can get. Who knows how many Team Rocket grunts are out there who don't know our identities?"

"Do what you want. But I'm sticking to escaping _my_ way," huffed the glaceon. "I can fight them off myself."

"It's a wonder why he hired you. Even I'm having trouble keeping you on your lead. And that's saying something."

The glaceon would have shuddered at the mention of her boss, but focused too much on Raiys' comment. "I am _no-one's_ pet! My lead is far beyond broken, Raiys. And I was hired long ago..."

"Yes...your temper fires up too easily. I'm surprised you're an ice type," Raiys remarked. However, his supposed friend simply looked away, not wishing to listen to her fellow teammate. "It's only a matter of time..."

**-ooo-**

Black shoes clapped against the hard ground, almost sounding like they were walking upon stone. Black clothes rustled and the red 'R' on the front became creased and almost unreadable. A man with high authority about him approached a large wooden crate aboard the large Team Rocket ship. He had a well-built body and was reasonably taller than the others around him. His facial expression – which suggested that he was always sneering – kept people from questioning his word.

As he neared the crate, he observed members of Team Rocket passing cages of pokémon from person to person, until it got to the crate entrance, which was only a tiny crack between two massive doors which nobody bothered to pay attention to. However, as the Rocket man was thrusting the cages into the crate, the man standing and observing him noticed something which made him mad. He tapped his foot until he realised it was, in fact, missing. "Why don't I hear a clash?!" the angry Rocket member demanded.

"What?" scoffed the man tossing the cages. As he turned around, he regretted saying it immediately. The man he had spoken to with such disrespect in his tone was one of the Team Rocket admins.

The highly ranked man snatched the lower man by his shirt, and brought him close to his face. "Would you care to _re-phrase_ that?" he growled.

"I m-mean, s-sir!" the young man stuttered, feeling completely terrified by the unwelcome visitor.

"Better," replied the man with a raised right end of his lip, and a greasy tone, "but how about you answer the question?"

"Qu-question?"

"YES, fool! _Why _isn't there a loud noise when you throw in the cages?! We don't want these pathetic creatures to feel like they're at home!"

The grunt swallowed hard, searching his mind for an answer. "U-um...I-I don't know, s-sir."

The admin tightened his grip, saliva seeping through his many teeth. "You pathetic WASTE OF SPACE!" he roared, his face radiating hatred. "I want them TREMBLING AT THE SIGHT OF TEAM ROCKET! NOW _SEE TO IT_!"

The intimidating Team Rocket member struck his victim across the face, then thrust him to the ground, hearing a thud as he landed. The smaller man scrambled up against the closest side wall of the crate, shaking and whimpering until his attacker spat and walked away. The frightened man slowed his breathing and reached to his eye where he had been punched. He could only see fuzzily through it, and when he pulled his hand away from to inspect it, red stained his dirtied gloves.

"Are you okay, man?" asked another random member. He bent over, placing down the cage he was holding, and attempted to tend to his colleague.

"Get OFF me!" he snapped, and the man who offered his help huffed, throwing the pokémon cage in himself. The man with the injured eye knew that the cage had been thrown into the large wooden crate, and he noticed something missing. "...He's right... There's no noise..."

**-ooo-  
**

"Get ready; another one!" I informed as an incoming cage appeared.

"SWIIII!" a pokémon cried as he soared through the air. The vines whipped (literally) into action, wrapping 'round the swinub's cage and holding it up in the air safely.

I smiled. This bulbasaur had really done a good job, and I intended to tell him.

"Thank you," nodded a clogged-nose sounding small brown pokémon with stripes of black on his back.

"Hehehe..." Sed chuckled, still holding the cage in the air. I really thought he was having a great time. And with all these "thank you"s, he was bound to feel somewhat higher of himself than before.

_**WRREEEE!**_

I shrieked as a loud, ear-piercing screech echoed throughout the crate. A number of other pokémon cringed and squinted as it happened, and everyone turned their gazes towards the entrance. A rough looking man was hunched at the doorway, hanging one of his arms while the other one leaned against the door to the crate. His black clothes contributed to his unidentifiable silhouette as we stared, and I noticed Sed beginning to tremble.

The human stood with a rotten frown on his face and scanned the room as if searching for that someone to blame. But I was soon to find out that he was—and who that someone was. "YOU!" he boomed, directing a finger covered in black material at Sed and his frightened face. "YOU got me into trouble... This is _YOUR _FAULT!"

The man, looking like he was possessed with anger, drove himself into the crate. Sed screamed in both fear and confusion as he dropped the swinub's cage and cowered at the back of his own. I stepped forward, my eyes widened and my chest puffed up. _'I must protect him!'_

The man reached for Sed's cage, his hands progressing towards it in a frightening manner. However, it was then when I realised I couldn't help my new friend—if I used my flamethrower attack, it would be more likely to hit Sed than to hit the man—who now _had_ Sed's cage.

In a desperate attempt to change the deranged human's mind, I screamed, "NO," and fired the flamethrower anyway. It powered through the bars of the cage and onto Sed, only mere embers jumping out to attack the Rocket member. I gasped horridly as I yelled out an apology, and screamed internally at myself for making a decision I _knew_ would turn out horribly.

The man rammed spears into my eyes as he cast a wicked glare upon me, and I was beyond startled. "SHUT UP! You wanna be executed too?!"

I staggered backwards. _'E-executed?!'_

From Sed's cage came another startling cry, and it _killed _me to hear him suffering while I stood helplessly and watched. I tackled into the bars surrounding me, but to no avail. I tried blowing scorching flames onto the metal, but still, nothing happened. I had come to assume that the cages, naturally, were pokémon-proof.

"Sed! I'm sorry! This is my fault!" I yelled to him, his eyes drowning in tears.

"WHY?!" wailed the green pokémon, his voice mangled with his whimpering despair. "Why did you _do this_ to me?! _I thought you were my friend!_"

My pupils shrunk. Violent tingles ripped down my spine. My face became overpowered by the unrepairable guilt that plagued my very _soul_. I crinkled my nose and clenched my jaws together, the tears failing to contain themselves. My heart felt as if it had stopped beating, and it seemed to sink in my chest.

It _was_ my fault, and I had let him down completely. How could I ever forgive myself?! _'He's gonna be killed because of me.'_ I stabbed my claws into the metal floor, squeezing tears from between my eyelids. _'BECAUSE OF ME!'_

I slumped my body into a sitting position, hanging my head low as my tearful eyes followed my screaming friend out of the giant crate. I longed to do something..._anything_, but it was useless. He looked as if he would never feel happy—ever, ever again. And he wouldn't.

As he disappeared from view, I couldn't stop hyperventilating. In a matter of time he would be dead...because of me.

**-ooo-**

My eyes were shut. Emptiness lingered as meaningless throughs whizzed around inside my head. It had been roughly five hours since Sed was taken away, and he hadn't come back. I knew he never would. All the pokémon were grateful to him for saving them from plummeting into the floor of the crate, but it would have been better for him to never have met me. He was surely... He had surely been executed by now. And for what—catching the cages of pokémon?! It was insanity! It was simply sick and despicable! And it made me feel more frightened and insecure. What kind of a monster would _kill_ a pokémon? We were designed to battle, so being killed would take a whole lot more than a flamethrower and a tackle... Unless they used evil human ways.

The guilt that stirred inside of me made my breathing unstable. It made me only able lie on the ground with eyes that continuously dripped tears which were building up. The pain in my ear throbbed, but only reminded me of my horrible mistake. Even worse, it reminded me of Sed's kindness, and how that was what got him killed. 

During the more recent time of the five hours, the ship had departed, and the crate I was in was swarmed with cages. It must've been stacked up as high as three rhyperior—and I was on the bottom row. I truly hoped that the cages were strong enough to support the weight of so many pokémon. If not...then soon enough I would be as flat as a gengar who melted into a shadow. 

"You shouldn't blame yourself," a calm voice interrupted my thoughts. "There's nothing you could have done to stop it."

I looked in the direction that it came from, and realised it was to my right—the cage beside mine. "You shouldn't be listening to my thoughts," I responded.

"It's my job. If I don't know what pokémon are thinking, how can I connect with them?"

"You don't."

"Haha, okay," laughed the dark coloured fire type. However, I stayed quiet. I needed not to get involved with more pokémon I could possibly endanger... "Sorry to bother you. Just curious."

"...Leave me alone," I grumped, placing my chin on my paws and turning to face away from the quilava.

"Alright. Just thought you might like some help." He didn't seem to take offence, but instead he tried to lure me into talking to him again. ...And it worked.

"I don't need help. What I need is some time to myself," I mumbled, not bothering to look at him or take my head off my paws to be heard clearly.

"Sure looked like it earlier," he stated. To this I twitched, and felt something make me frown. I clenched my teeth, automatically assuming he was talking about...the bulbasaur... "When your tackling didn't seem to do anything but give you a headache."

My tense feeling released. He was talking about me trying to escape, not about Sed. _'...Wait...'_ I realised. "What?" I asked, this time actually raising my head and facing him. My eyes darted from his right one to his left as a sly grin spread across the left of his face (from my point of view). The grin vanished, being replaced with a regular smile, and he nodded casually. "Are you planning to escape?" I questioned, the tone in my voice suggesting that the task was impossible.

He chuckled. "Yes."

I really had no time for a jester. "...How?"

"Like..._this_." One of the quilava's claws fiddled around with the lock on the outside of the cage.

'_Oh yeah, that's really gonna work,'_ I thought sarcastically, nearly turning back to my paws.

Before I could say anything though, a small click sounded. "Ah-huh!" My eyes were wide with disbelief as the quilava then rammed into the cage door, and he stumbled out, falling onto his side.

"How the hell did you get out?!" I questioned.

The quilava lifted himself onto his paws and shook off. "I've been working on breaking this lock for hours. Lucky I have sharp claws, right?" he chuckled, smiling.

"Can you—can you get me out?" I asked with a slight frown and urgency.

"Hm, I don't think so. I _had_ been working on that for a while."

To that response my ears dropped and my eyes became covered by a disappointed frown. I noticed him smirk.

"...However... If I can't do it, I know who can," he mentioned, causing my head to rise again and look at him.  
Doing the last thing I expected, the quilava leaped onto a nearby cage which was poking out slightly from the stack, and continued making his way up to near the top rows. I couldn't follow him for very long though, especially because I didn't particularly want to look directly up from me. I was looking underneath a green and white pokémon... Let's just say...it wasn't the prettiest aspect of a kirlia.

As I was distracted about trying to find a way to keep track of where the quilava was going, a large explosion sounded. Many pokémon whipped their heads in the direction of the noise, including me, and before I found out what it was, a figure dropped down in front of me. In his mouth was a rather large seed.

"What's that?" I questioned in a curious but also suspicious manner.

"I suggest shielding yourself."

Slightly annoyed that the fire type ignored my question, I pulled my tail in front of me as I pressed myself against the back of the cage—which was barely different from the front's space, considering the cage's size.

A blur of yellowy colouring flew towards me—and frankly, I wasn't expecting what happened next.

_**KABOOM! **_

The sudden explosion caught me completely off guard, and I shrieked as the sound carried out through the huge wooden crate. Lucky I had covered my ears.

As the smoke cleared, and several pokémon coughed and spluttered, I began to stare at the small hole that was only a few seconds ago not there. The silver metal around it had blackened, and it looked fragile and hot. That's when the quilava dropped from above.

"That, Miss Flareon, is a blast seed," he answered, smiling coolly with his eyes half shut.

**-ooo-**

A Team Rocket grunt snored loudly as his inanimate body lay slumped against one of the many large crates. His snoring would surely have disturbed anyone in close range. Drool dripped from one corner of his mouth while the other emitted the loud noise. His rough hair was carelessly shoved under a grubby hat which was pulled over his eyes, and his clothes were stained and stinky. The saliva slipping between his lips gathered in a small pool on his shirt, which was propped up because of the position he was 'lying' in.

A sudden explosion type of noise woke him with a start. His hat fell off his head as he jumped, and the drool trailed down the side of his top.

"Uh, what, what?" he uttered in a low, dopey tone. His hat brushed against his side as he brought his hat up, plonking it back on. He glanced around the place, expecting to see someone nearby with something like dynamite or a gun. This face searched around the premises, and only after did he get up to poke his head around the closest corner. He waited.

After seeing nothing strange, he sat back down in the same spot and lowered his eyelids. Again looking around to make sure nobody was looking, he lay back up against the wall of the crate, drifting off once more.


	7. Chapter Seven: Escape Plan

**Chapter Seven: Escape Plan**

"One hundred and ninety-eight!" I called, my voice almost becoming hoarse from the strain I was putting on it.

"Excellent! Keep at it!" an encouraging yell called back. "Ninety-nine."

I smiled as I spat out yet another explosive seed. "Watch out," I warned, the seed landing right below the lock on the cage before me. A loud pop and a bang sounded at almost the same time, blowing holes where the locks were only moments before. The lotad who I had just freed came scuttling out of his cage, as did the starly whose cage my quilava friend blew a hole in.

"Thank you, thank you!" the small water weed pokémon beamed. I found it hard to see his eyes under the giant lily pad on his head.

"No worries. You're number two hundred," I chuckled. In actual fact I was giggling at the large tan top lip that was spread across the pokémon's blue face. However, I decided not to mention anything and the lotad crawled with the starly – who flew – over to the large lot of noise-making bunch of free pokémon. There were still about another four or so hundred to free, and they were all poking their paws — or whatever they had — between the cage holes, shouting to be liberated.

"DUCK FOR COVER!" a voice rang, making me jump. A bang also made me flinch, and I stared back at the pokémon who had caused it. He was a bit bigger than me in size and orangey-yellow in colour. He had long feet which were half brown, small arms with paws that were brown, almost leaf-shaped ears which were curly at the end—also brown, two yellow spots on either of his cheeks (which had red markings through each), a white belly and a long, thin, black tail with a lightning bolt at its tip. He wore a strap around his waist with a buckle in the middle shaped presumably like another sort of bomb.

"Oh, Pokol," I began to say, getting the raichu's attention, "where would we be without you?"

"Still stuck in your bomb-less cages!" he replied with a grin. The huge sack that accompanied him (which the raichu apparently entrusted to a pelipper in an effort to keep it undiscovered from the Rockets) still, even by this stage, had some remaining explosives.

I chuckled once more as I raced back to the pile of toe-sized blast seeds stacked up near the raichu. I sucked up the seeds one by one into my mouth, storing them in my bulging cheeks for transportation. I leaped onto an empty cage and then the one on top of that. The three cages in front of me were empty, but behind them were still rows of pokémon.

"Get us out!" yelled a desperate pokémon to my right.

"Please free us!" someone else pleaded.

"Me first, me first!" another voice insisted.

I frowned, becoming slightly confused. "Okay, alright; wait." My speech came out in little more than a jumble, and I began to dribble involuntarily as I tried to keep my mouth ajar for a little longer. I placed by front paws onto an empty cage to the right and pushed until it came to the edge of the stack and toppled off. The pair of cages beside it also fell, clashing against other cages and causing me to give a greasy – and awkward – smile. I turned and raced back to the pokémon I was going to release, making sure my toes didn't slip between the wires under my feet. The last thing I wanted was to have something to distract me and slow me down. If I was to get outta here, it wasn't going to be at any kind of leisurely pace.

_Phoo, phoo, phoo, phoo!_ I spat out four seeds in a row, making sure I took aim before doing so. The exploding seeds blew up as they made contact with the metal and four more pokémon cheered as they bolted out and away from their cages. "Bring them to the aron!" I instructed, seeing the pokémon hastily rush off the scene. In response to my commands, all four of them returned to drag - or push - their cages to a group of about six aron. Since they had all been starved during the past few days and we needed a way to get rid of the cages, I thought it would be sensible to feed the hunks of metal to the hungry steel types. It worked for us all, and we were more than satisfied when it turned out to be working.

"Flareon," began a voice from behind, and I almost jumped. "I require releasing." A pair of sharp, long claws slid between two bars of metal in a cage behind me, making a slight click against them. Apparently I'd missed a cage. All cages around her were empty, but the dark pokémon must have blended with the lack of light.

Taking a step toward the pokémon, I stared up into a semi-familiar face. It was somewhat elegant and came down to a slight point at the bottom. There was also a gem on her forehead and one of her ears was elongated and pink. But the most recognisable feature was the wound only hours old on her side. I gasped. "You're the sneasel!" I began, my eyes widening. "Who...who was electrocuted..."

"...I _don't _want to talk about it," the sneasel, who was obviously female, hissed defensively.

"S-sorry. I just...I saw it happen, and I really wanted to help." I looked at the pokémon with sad and sincere eyes. "I really would have if I could at the time!"

"You can help now by freeing me," she pointed out.

"Yeah..." I nodded with assurance, and bounded down a few cages to get to the shrinking pile of blast seeds. I suddenly hoped there were enough for every last pokémon.

"W-where are you going?" the sneasel called to me, sounding urgent and slightly frightened.

"Getting you a blast seed; hang on!" I yelled back. I neared the stack of seeds, trying to fit between a small, pink happiny and two red-winged spearow. _'Move it!'_ I growled inwardly, my impatience getting the better of me. As more pokémon closed in around the seeds to gather them – and probably rescue their friends – I sighed and figured it would be sensible to wait. Normally I would have barged through, but by chance one of these pokémon would release the sneasel anyway.

"Having trouble keeping up?" laughed the quilava who was seated only a few metres away from me. I almost smiled at him, and nodded slowly.

"Shame, huh?" I replied, taking a few steps toward him. "They're pretty popular."

"Here." A seed flew in my direction. I made an effort to catch it in my mouth, but it slid and bounced away. I rolled my eyes, hearing a "sorry" from the quilava, and pursued the escapee. I kept my eyes on it as I ran after it, but I was slightly alarmed as a black paw placed itself on top of my target, causing it come to a halt.

'_Huh?' _My legs slowed to a stop, and I looked up to see a figure standing in my way.

The paw was connected to a black leg with a blue ring on the top muscle. The leg belonged to a body, which held three more legs, each with the same blue ring in the same spot. I shifted my gaze to the pokémon's face, which had yet another blue ring on the forehead, and big, red eyes—however, they did not seem threatening. The pokémon's ears were long and much like a pikachu's, and had, again, those blue rings wrapped around them close to the top. His tail looked exactly like the ears, and, obviously, it sat on the black pokémon's rump.

'_An umbreon,'_ I came to think. _'...But why is he blue?'_

"Is this yours?" he asked me.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." I took the seed in my mouth as I bent down once the umbreon removed his paw, and took a step back, placing it between my two front paws.

"You're welcome," he answered, smilinghap happily.s I bent down once the Umbreon removed his paw, and took a step the ears, and, obviously, . We both stood on the spot and an awkward silence fell upon us as we neglected to say anything. I glanced around, spotting the sneasel who had now sat down and begun to fiddle with her long claws.

"...Anyway," I continued, breaking the silence, "I need to...go and help—"

"Yeah." The umbreon nodded, knowing what I was going to say.

I nodded, still trying to smile. "...I'll...see you 'round." I scooped the seed up again and hid it in a cheek pocket.

"Sure," he replied.

I kept standing for another few seconds before turning around and springing off the wooden floor. My paws landed on top of a cage nearby, which had nothing but air inside, and continued bounding my way up until I reached the sneasel. She was about to speak, but I cut her off with my own words. "Shield yourself," I advised, and the sneasel hesitated before following my instructions. She held her near-black arms over her face as she pressed her body up against the metal bars behind her. I bulged my cheeks, then shot out the seed that seemed incapable of blowing something up. However, it proved itself to be useful as it did its job and freed the ice and dark type pokémon, spatters of material spraying us both in the process.

"Thank you," the sneasel speedily spoke. "I am Zhol. And I am forever in your debt."

I raised an eyebrow. _'Forever in my debt?' _I thought, frowning slightly._ 'Poor thing doesn't know that neither of us will be alive forever.'_ "I'm Dusty. And...you don't have to be in my debt," I chuckled.

"I shall do what I can," she reassured, nodding once as she stepped out beside me.

"Alrighty, then. How about for now, you could help me rescue some more pokémon?"

She agreed with another nod, following me down the stack of metal cages and over to the seeds. But there was still a long line. Pokémon after pokémon seemed to be lining up in order to get a few seeds each.

I sighed and turned around. "How about we collect cages instead? We can give them to the aron," I suggested. Zhol nodded, and we both made our ways back to the cages. I craned my neck, trailing the pile upwards as I realised just how many there were. I knew that the aron were hungry, but they wouldn't stay that way for long.

Straight after that quilava – whose name I had yet to learn – freed me from my prison-like cage, we began to release the pokémon on the topmost rows, then threw their cages down, liberating more pokémon as we descended.

Earlier a Rocket man had stormed in, probably after hearing the ruckus, and the quilava and I had a zubat use confuse ray on the man. Whilst he was dazed I had charged at him with a quick attack, hitting him hard. I then spat up gooey purple sludge by using toxic, which poisoned the man until he was knocked out—which was also when the poison wore off. He probably needed medical attention, but in such a situation it seemed impossible without exposing our plans. Therefore he still sat hopelessly slouched against the side wall unconscious. He may have woken up a few times, but there was a bidoof and a natu on guard – in case he woke up – to send him right back into unconsciousness.

I lowered my brow as I turned away from the sorry sight, and couldn't help thinking of my trainer. Even if she had been bad, just like these people...there was no way I would _ever_ leave her in that kind of shape. I had to wonder if we were really doing the right thing...

**-ooo-**

Finally, after what seemed like ages, every pokémon that were being held captive were free. Just about every cage had piled up in a corner of the giant crate, or else eaten by the aron and a lairon who now sat happily with full bellies. It was found that the cages were, in fact, pokémon resistant on the inside due to some kind of human technology, but the outside was like any other metal and was vulnerable to pokémon attacks. Eventually we worked out that the shortage of blast seeds wasn't tragic, as our attacks worked perfectly when destroying the locks.

The only problem now was that there were pokémon everywhere, and I was now finding it hard to see through the large crowd of chatting and panicky creatures. But what was worse was the smell. Pokémon who had become sea-sick had vomited wherever they had happened to be standing at the time. And I wouldn't even know what they had in their bellies to throw up. But the amount of droppings and urine was also disgusting, and you never knew when you were about to step in some. My nose was constantly crinkled by the foul smelling waste, and my paws were covered in who-knows-what. With the continuous string of pokémon needing to let loose either way, the brown – and sometimes green – muck would only build up... We needed to win our freedom. And fast.

**-ooo-**

I wanted to get through to that quilava. He seemed smart and from what I had gathered and I assumed that he would be the ideal plan-constructor—with my help, of course. So far we had all escaped our cages. Now we just had to break down the crate... Relocating the fire pokémon was the best idea I had, and I truly hoped he had a better one. There was only one way to find out.

I flinched as a something heavy stepped on top of my paw, dirtying it all the more, and I flicked my head to its direction. In front of me was a round, mostly green-coloured pokémon with two bushes on its back. I could see three large legs rounded off with thick paws from this angle, but there were obviously four. I ascended to his face, noting that half his head was cut off by the large yellow armour he carried on his back. His mouth was hooked, and his cheeks came to points and were yellow, matching the bottom jaw. As fancy and nature-loving as he was, he had no excuse for standing on my now-thumping toes!

"Watch it!" I growled, flaring up.

"Sorry," insisted the grotle, shifting his large paw.

"Good..." I muttered, not in a forgiving mood.

"...Have you seen an umbreon?" he wondered, taking a quick glance through the crowd.

"No, I haven't," I replied with a frown. _'I wonder if he means that blue-ringed one...' _"Have you seen a quilava?" I asked once we had both attempted to look over the mass of pokémon once more—but with little success.

Assuming he didn't hear me over the noise, the bulky pokémon pushed between others and disappeared. I was about to call out to him and follow, but I was shoved backwards by a lardy yellow makuhita. I toppled over and crashed onto my side. _'Talk about paranoid...' _I thought sourly as the fighting type held her head and let out a distressed cry. She was complaining about the fact that she was trapped in the crate without her precious trainer. "Aren't we all?" I questioned, a husky quality to my voice. The plump, yellow pokémon turned to me, and through her squinted eyes, she must have seen my frustration. She frowned and kept her mouth shut, and moved out the way as I barged through once I was on my paws again. _'Where is that bloody quilava?' _

As I continued to push through the creatures surrounding me, I heard pokémon after pokémon talking about being so worried and afraid. They sounded as if they were thinking the worst, and it kinda of bugged me to see them all like this—so hopeless and cowardly. Not all of them, but most probably had trainers they longed to go home to. I know I did. Vesp, Wulua and Koi all did as well. It was a pretty horrible thing to do to pokémon, and I would show no mercy once I managed to get out there and kick some Team Rocket hind.

A slender body which was seated against a wall with a blue pokémon next to it caught my attention. As soon as I recognised the pokémon as who I thought he was, I rushed over to him with a sigh of relief. "I finally found you."

"Hm?" The pokémon looked up at me with that same cool expression.

"I'd been looking for you," I repeated, deciding to hide behind manners.

"Who's this?" asked the blue pokémon beside my friend, rising to her paws. It was either just me, or she sounded defensive.

I was about to speak after taking a good look at the female eeveelution in front of me, but the quilava did it for me. "This is...?" He moved his head to the side whilst looking at me with eyes not fully open.

"Dusty," I finished, once realising he didn't know my name yet. He then turned to the glaceon. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, and instead just looked at me with a hard expression.

"Raiys," she started, her eyes set on me agitatedly, "why, may I ask, does this flareon know you?"

I blinked a few times, and realised that it was almost as if I didn't exist. She was talking about me...when I was right in front of her... _'But still...Raiys, huh? I gotta remember that.' _

"Well, I helped Dusty escape right after we saw her earlier," he simply replied. I wondered what he meant by that, and assumed the glaceon would know who I was if they saw me together. "Is there a problem?"

To his reply, the glaceon smiled—in a threatening kind of way. However, in a flash, the smile vanished and was replaced with a bored yet angry look. She opened her jaw, and then shut it again, looking as if she was shuffling her cheeks out of the way for her teeth to settle down onto one another. She avoided my eyes and shook back the long appendages coming from her headpiece. Without looking at either of us, the blue ice type muttered, "I have other business to tend to."

As she walked away, I blinked whilst my cheeks rose, forming a frown and an unhappy mouth. "What's _her_ problem?" I really didn't care if she heard me. Just means she'd know how I feel.

Raiys rose to his paws, still looking at his friend as she squeezed into the dense crowd. "She's my partner."

I blinked a few times, once again, in slight shock. "Partner...? Partner for what?" Did he mean mate?

"Something that's best not said." He turned to me, an expressionless look upon his face.

"...Why?" I asked with a flat tone.

"Well...partners in our work."

I lowered my cheeks, but the frown still remained. But more of a thinking frown. What kind of work did they do? Did pokémon have to work in the wild? I drew a breath, deciding not to intrude...in that area. "B't... Her attitude toward me was—"

"Hostile?"

"Well, yeah," I responded. If he knew this, why was he 'partners' with her?

"Azure has a history of unusual events. She's the way she is."

"Can't she be _somewhat_ friendly, though?" I questioned, almost recognising my tone as that of disgust.

"She's unfriendly to strangers, but to her friends she is different. Gain her trust...and maybe you'll see that side of her," Raiys explained, a slight smile licking his lips.

I thought it over, and calculated it to make sense. It's not like I'd ever _want_ to become her friend, anyway. However, now wasn't the time to think about that. I did come to my fire type friend for a reason. "Hey—Raiys?"

The quilava's neck rotated to face me. I could tell that he was surprised to hear me call him by his name. His eyes gave a sign of his attention being paid. "Mm?"

"You wouldn't...happen to have a plan for escaping... Would you?"

Then the grin returned. It made me smile back, but I raised my eyebrow as he told me that although he had an idea, I would have to figure it out myself.

**-ooo-**

"If there's one thing I know," I was told whilst trying to hear over the noise, "it's that, explosives? ...They solve _everything_."

_**KABLAMO!**_

My mane and tuft were blown back like a pidgeotto using gust right in front of me. Brown ears and a long tail next to me were also blown backwards as the explosion caught us off guard.

Once it stopped, I felt kind of disappointed, staring at the result. "...It didn't do anything..."

The raichu with an insanely creepy grin on his face turned to me inch-by-inch, and I withdrew my head with a frown—however, I thought of it to be a little funny. "Well then..." His face returned to normal, "we'll just...TRY AGAIN!" Immediately the sack came back out and a bomb almost too large for Pokol's paws was suddenly under my black nose.

"UHH!" I interrupted, raising my voice before he set it off. "Maybe we should try something different."

Pokol's face formed a little bit of a frown. "What? Why?" He shoved it closer to me. "Explosives!"

"Well," I started, "this _is_ the thirteenth one. And they don't exactly seem to be working." I tried working my way around my words with a particular tone, trying not to offend him.

"Oh... Oh well!" He threw the bomb and grinned once more as it hit the wall and exploded.

This time I was actually pushed back a little. "Woah..." I muttered. _'I think that one was a little stronger...'_

"The bigger, the better!" Pokol chuckled.

"You have fun with that," I laughed, and smiled in a funny way as I searched with my eyes for any sign of Raiys. _'That freaking quilava is the master of evasion...'_ I couldn't see him _anywhere._ _'It would help if I was taller. ...Maybe he can turn invisible. Or perhaps he flew away.'_ I amused myself with odd thoughts, making my way through the difficult crowd and to the back of the crate. _'If I can't find him to help me come up with a plan, then I should may as well think about it myself.' _I padded across the mucky, now-stained floor and reached the back. I found a vaguely clean spot to sit, and I inhaled deeply. _'Now...think! It seems pokémon proof from the inside, just like the cages we were in... But... The cages weren't as strong on the outside... Huh.'_ I gave a smirk. "I think I just found my solution..."

"Solution to what?" I spun around to the sound of a voice.

"Uhh... Oh, hey! You're that guy from before."

"Heh, yes. I'm 'that guy'," the black pokémon replied.

"You got a name?" I asked unenthusiastically.

"Hakumei. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, ditto. I'm Dusty." We sat there for a little while longer, and then the shiny umbreon decided to speak.

"I hope the solution you've got is one to get us out of here," he mentioned, sitting back down.

"Actually...yes." I nodded, and before he could ask what it was, I cleared my throat. "Well, I reckon if we could get to the outside of the crate without the Rockets knowing, we could break it open." Hakumei nodded, but it slowed. "You know how the cages were unharmed by any pokémon attack from the inside?"

"...Yes," he replied.

"And we could easily melt them down on the outside. They must have some sort of unbreakable, invisible force fields or something. _I_ think it's the same for the inside and out of this crate."

"Smart theory," Hakumei stated, raising his brow.

"Thanks... If it doesn't work, I don't know what will," I mumbled, turning away. "It's all I got, really."

"It's worth a shot," he shrugged, but I couldn't tell whether or not he was sceptical of my plan's legitimateness.

"Yeah..." I turned my head and asked, "Do you have a trainer?"

"...Yes."

"...So you know what it's like to be separated from her..." I looked down, eying the floor. "Or him, if it's a male."

"For me it's different. I spend endless hours away from my trainer all the time," he told me, and I gasped.

"Wh-what? But why? Don't...you like her?"

He gave a chuckle and shook his head. "She's a Monogatari Karei. I help her out in protecting the world from disastrous things – such as Team Rocket – and sometimes that means we have to be apart." I widened my eyes, developing many questions. "If those low-life humans hadn't managed to capture me, most of them wouldn't be here right now."

"Wow...so...if she's a Mona...a Mona...what?"

"Monogatari Karei."

"Oh... What are Mononotagori...ka...re..." I rolled my eyes, giving up on the pronunciation. "What are _they_?"

Hakumei chuckled a little. "The Monogatari are the race that was created by the Original One to protect the Legendaries from anything and everything," he explained.

"Ahh... Wow, protecting the Legendaries? How do they do that? How could a human... Protect such powerful pokémon?" I asked, finding it very interesting.

"They are all partly pokémon—not entirely human. They can morph into the pokémon that they have the DNA of." He must have stopped to grin when my eyes widened—along with my mouth. "Mitsumae is part umbreon. She has umbreon ears and an umbreon tail. She can also morph into one."

"Wow... But... I've never seen them before. If they're supposed to protect every Legendary... Shouldn't they be everywhere?" I asked. Even though I had travelled all over the world, I hadn't ever seen one.

"...They used to be..." he mourned with sadness to his tone.

"...Wadda ya mean?" I questioned, a serious face soon coming on.

"They... All but Mitsumae and one of her friends were wiped out..."

"WHAT? The whole race?" I exclaimed.

"The whole race..."

My eyes froze on his. I was finding this a little hard to believe. "Who would do...such a horrible thing?"

"...There are many evil people out there. And some Monogatari who strive to be the best... And go to extremes to get what they want..." The umbreon lowered his head. I had a feeling that he was friends with some of the pokémon protectors who had passed away due to unfortunate events.

Suddenly I had a change of heart. All humans should not be treated the same, as I had previously questioned. Some deserved to suffer. "Well," I began, interrupting the silence, "I have a plan." The umbreon turned to me, seeming to let go of the conversation we had just had. "Ghost pokémon can travel through things, right?"

"Yes. But mostly things that aren't living. Like...rocks, for instance. Only skilled ghost pokémon can travel through other pokémon or humans."

"Excellent..." I snickered, a sneaky smile appearing on my face. Turning away from Hakumei, my eyes darted around the room. _'Tall pokémon, tall pokémon...' _I squinted, pulling a paw up to my nose as the continuous stench floated my way. But since a lot of pokémon in the crate were taller than me, I couldn't exactly see that well. However, I wasn't bogged for long. _'Ah huh! Luck's coming my way...' _I smiled, spotting somebody who I had met earlier. I squeezed between several pokémon, both diminutive and higher-standing than me, and leaped onto a brown shoulder after pushing off. I barely managed to land without falling off, and my claws hooked onto the fur under my paws. "Hey, Luck!" I exclaimed into a somewhat small, rounded ear.

At first the normal type was startled and I could tell that he was about to defend himself, but when he realised that it was me, he sighed, putting a paw to his chest. "You gave me a start," the bear-like pokémon explained, chuckling a little afterwards. His voice was reasonably deep—suiting the large creature he was.

"Hah, I'm good at that," I mentioned, hearing another chuckle from my adult-aged friend as he brought a great paw up to my head and started scratching me behind the ear with a large claw. I smiled, my nose-end lifting and my tail wagging. After a few seconds, he stopped scratching me, and I scrambled further up onto his shoulder, then slumped over it with my legs hanging either side. I laughed at this, since I couldn't be bothered standing up—or anything proper like that. The forest-dweller smiled. "Oh," I then realised, remembering why I came to see him in the first place. "I need a favour!"

"Yes? Anything for releasing me." His yellow muzzle continued holding that same smile.

"First, I need you to come to the back of the crate, please." With a nod and no hesitation, the ursaring who I was still slung over began to make his way to where I was sitting before with Hakumei. I could see that the umbreon hadn't moved, and he was seated as he watched me.

Every step was a thump against the wood, and I felt somewhat excited to be so high up. I could see much more from up where I was, providing a good overview of most of the crate. As he stopped, I let Luck know that I wanted him in the centre of the back wall, because I was going to make a speech. He happily agreed, striding to where I desired. "Is here alright?"

"Yep! Here's great; thanks," I answered. The pokémon came to a halt, standing upright and high.

"Um, excuse me, everyone!" I tried to yell over the noise. However, only a few pokémon – one being Hakumei – turned to look at me. "Hey!" But it still didn't work. Trying once more, I called, "HEEEYY!" Again only a few pokémon stopped to turn, and their attention disintegrated as they went back to what they were doing. I frowned, drawing a deep breath. "...SHUUUT UUUPP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. About twenty pokémon realised and faced my direction. Twenty. OUT OF HUNDREDS. As the chatter continued, I couldn't help but to frown with dissatisfaction. If nobody would listen to me, I wouldn't be able to explain my plan to everyone. "HELLO?" I tried again—but with the same results. Pokémon here and there who had chosen to listen to me had turned away, but others still paid me the attention I required. "Luck," I moaned, wearing a disappointed facial expression, "they're not listening..."

"Would you like me to try?" he offered delightfully. I thought that might work—considering his species was the stereotypical scary monster, and I had a feeling he could be pretty loud when he wanted to.

"Awright," I decided quickly, trusting him to take care of it. I bent my ears down, knowing that Luck if I didn't I might walk away with burst ear drums, and I braced myself.

With extreme power and volume, a mighty roar just about shook the whole crate. Pokémon all around us squealed and made an effort to cover their ears—however long, short or colourful they may have been. It echoed throughout my head, knocking me off Luck's shoulder and onto the floor after I had squirmed in midair. I landed with a thump on my left side behind the ursaring, and I had the wind knocked right out of my chest as I stared across the floor in front of me—which was covered in waste that I would rather not have seen.

The roar stopped when Luck realised that I had slipped off his shoulder, and he quickly shifted his head down to me.

"Oh dear!" he called, reaching down. I managed to take in a small breath before being picked up, and Luck looked me in the eyes with worried ones of his own. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, little Dusty!"

It took me a few seconds to inhale properly once again, and when I could, I uttered, "It's fine..."

He was still holding me with his two paws when he turned around to the sound of an angry pokémon. "What's the big idea?" one called from near the back. He was a male kricketune—I could tell by his ridiculous, long moustache (as well as his voice).

"You could've made me step on a smaller pokémon!" a vigoroth yelled, her white body standing out in the middle of the crowd.

"While you're deafening us, we're trying to deal with the loss of our trainers!" exclaimed a yanma, his wings beating at a very fast speed whilst his large, green head moved with sudden movements.

Most of the pokémon then began to yell and chant, agreeing with the three comments. But before their attention moved on completely, I managed to stand up and frown at them all.

"Hey! Don't have a go at him!_ I_ asked 'im to get your attention."

"Well how about you keep your LOUD EXPRESSIONS to yourself?" answered the kricketune again, throwing a thin arm up in the air as he spoke. Pokémon around him all roared with support.

"How about you keep your jerk-like opinions to_ your_self?" I retorted, unable to resist. I puffed my chest up.

The kricketune stopped hi-fiving the surrounding pokémon, and he stared at me. "What did you say?"

"Oooo!" the crowd around him bellowed.

"Oh, bloody hell—I don't have time for this!" I boomed, catching some of the front row pokémon off guard. "Don't you all _get it_? We _have _to get outta here before those Team Rocket jokers find out we've escaped our cages!" I yelled, silencing the stupid lot of pokémon.

"What, and you've got a plan?" questioned a shuckle in the front row.

"YES!" I snapped, making the pokémon's head withdraw into her shell. "As a matter of fact...that's why I wanted your attention." I stopped to rain evil eyes onto those few who were still showing disrespect. "I know you all want your freedom, and so do I. So how about zipping your lips and _listening_?"

"How do we know this isn't a bogus idea?" questioned anther pokémon, and I sighed audibly.

"You'll just have to _listen_." Finally all chatter subsided as the creatures became increasingly interested in what I had to say. It was all about them, clearly, so if they were going to benefit from what I had to offer, then they were going to pay attention. If not, then they were about to set out on their pathway to doom.


	8. Chapter Eight: Fighting for Freedom

**Chapter Eight: Fighting for Freedom**

All of the pokémon had now laid their eyes on me, staring intently. I was finally beginning to think that I was gaining respect, and I suddenly felt more important. "You all want to escape, and because of that, I know you'll help me complete the task willingly. But for this to work, I need your full cooperation and you _all _need to listen to myinstructions!" I glanced around, seeing some pokémon here and there looking doubtful. Some were intrigued by my words, and probably thought that my plan was a small flame still illuminating their shallow pools of hope.

I felt sorry for most of them, actually. Pokémon who were presumably respected and honourable, standing by the sides of their trainers were now attempting to gain shelter in their shells of negative thoughts and impossible ambitions.

But not me. I wouldn't stand to be pushed around by the apparent superiors who call themselves Team Rocket. Did they seriously expect to catch Dusty the flareon without a struggle? I may have been weak back there in the water with Izante and we were ambushed by the oversized fossil, but on land I can kick serious behind. Especially that of some amateur humans. And with the whole room overflowing with pokémon, we stood a perfect chance against them all.

I was yet to discover how many Rockets patrolled the top of the ship—or however many were on the entire sea vessel, but I was sure we could conquer and defeat them all. Deaths in the process were the cost of freedom, and I was more than willing to accept that. It was a horrible fate, but we would die with dignity still in our hearts. Because it was the last chance we had. And to survive, you must be willing to sacrifice.

I wasn't the only one to assume that there were other crates just like this one onboard, and if that was correct – and I knew it was – then there would be all the more pokémon to help us battle our way out of here. However, that also meant more pokémon to free. And I would have to issue a battle plan. If everyone followed my suggestions and commandments, we might just be able to pull it off. But...you can't put a poliwag straight into hot water—you have to gradually heat it up.

"Ghost pokémon! What kind of ghost pokémon do we have in here?" I called out, my voice echoing throughout the crate which was now silent. I had climbed up onto Luck's shoulders to see from a higher perspective. We'd piled some cages on top of one another so I had a wide view, and I assumed that most could see me. "Just raise your paw...or tentacle, or fin, or claw, or flipper, or hoof, or hand, or tail, or foot, or crest, or—" I stopped as a lone purple hand rose. It was floating—not connected to an arm. It belonged to someone near the back of the middle of the group, and the pokémon rose from the crowd.

He stared at me with large eyes planted either side of his jagged mouth, one of his two hands coming down by his side, curled over and with three pointed fingers. "Well?" I started. "Come on up here." The deep purple haunter floated through the crowd, the harmless spikes protruding from the sides of his body brushing against the occasional pokémon, before levitating to my side and facing the audience. "Anyone else? Come on, there can't just be one ghost type in this whole bunch."

"I-I'm ghost type," a voice admitted. It sounded low and dopey—the kind of voice you would expect to hear from someone who had a master he always followed around. A five-fingered grey hand popped up from about the second row. A browny-grey body with horizontal black lines across his body stood on two stubby legs without paws or feet. There was a singular eye placed near the top of the egg-like-shaped pokémon, and on top of his head was a thin cloud of browny-cream fluff that flew behind it.

"Come on up," I prompted, and the dusclops followed my directions. "Okay, now: which of you can go through walls?"

"W-walls?" the dusclops questioned, stuttering a little.

"Yes, walls. You know—those tall plastery things that keep houses and other structures together?"

"...I can," the haunter said, his eyes almost looking through my own.

"Good," I began, leaning over Luck's large paws and dropping on my own front two. "I have a plan. If you can get through that wall there," – I signalled to the broad wooden wall that had two large doors which were bolted down – "and you hide in the shadows until the humans aren't looking, you can attack the lock on the doors. If I'm correct, the doors could then swing open and we'd all be free!"

Hearing my plan and probably figuring it to be one that might work, the crowd of pokémon began cheering and beaming. As happy as I was to see them like this, I had to shut them up again.

"Guys, GUYS!" There were a few voices muttering bitterly to each other, eying me, but I heaved another sigh and ignored them. "Thinking ahead here!" I turned back to the floor, my mind sorting through possibilities. "Hm... All bird pokémon, please make your way to the right of the room." Presumably waiting for someone else to make the first move, nobody fluttered an inch. "...Hello? Come on!" Muttering once again and hesitating to do so, the huge group of pokémon all shuffled to the side in order for the flying types to bunch in one area. "_My _right. Not yours!" I restated, and they all stopped. Beginning to change their course, I called out again. "Wait! Don't worry about it now." I closed my eyes and brought my face down to the paw I raised. Master used to call this 'face-palming'. Once the pokémon had come to the appropriate place, I sighed again—this time with relief. "Alright, now, you lot: as soon as we get out there, fly to the shore to find things like rocks to bring back and attack the humans with." I hoped that this was a good idea, but since the humans possibly had guns, they could hurt the pokémon. "Hm...but, in any way possible, tempt the humans to bring out any flying types of their own. If their pokémon are in the air with you, then they probably won't want to take their guns and shoot you in case their pokémon are struck."

With a huff, one honchkrow opened her short yellow beak. "That's suicide! What happens if they _do _shoot at us, hmm?" She had her fluffy white chest puffed up, and the hat-like feature on the top of her head made her look more 'proper'.

"Yeah!" another pokémon shouted, and, soon enough, they were all crowing again.

"I don't think this will work..." muttered another sadly. "It sounds scary!"

Near the back of the group of bird pokémon, an altaria – who had large, cloud-like wings and blue feathers – turned to a pelipper which sat with his gaping yellow beak. "Ha! I'm just going to fly away and not come back. What's the point in returning?"

The pelipper laughed, exclaiming, "I was thinking the same thing! That flareon's plan is ridiculous, anyway. It'll never work. Don't know what in the world she's thinking."

"What about all those pokémon who would just fly away and not return?" a voice in the non-flying type bunch queried. I simply scoffed and a sour expression formed upon my face.

"Any kind of sick-minded selfish flying rat that chooses to do such a thing _won't _be going to the nicer of the two Afterworlds. They'd be leaving us all! They'll live to carry in their hearts a great deal of guilt." I glared at the bird pokémon with a threatening frown. If that didn't shut them up, then I don't know what did. After a few seconds of silence, I changed the topic. "All vine whip users—throw the humans off board, along with any pokémon that try to oppose us! Pokémon with confuse ray—confuse them until they can be confused no more! Pokémon with quick attack, speed charge or agility—use your speed to your advantage! By the way," I turned to the haunter beside me, "you'll have to repeat all this to the pokémon in the other crates before you break their locks."

"B-but...how can I remember all that you've just said?"

"...Hm... Can you go through walls with other pokémon?" I asked.

"O-only one," he replied.

"Good enough!" My eyes jumped flying pokémon's heads until I came across a black one that resembled a music note. "You, chatot!"

"Yeah?" came a reply.

"Come up here, will ya?"

Hopping along the wooden, muck covered floor, the music note pokémon cocked his head to the side once stopping in front of me. "What?"

"Chatter."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused. Chatter," I repeated.

"Ch-chatter?" he questioned.

"Chatter! Use your move, chatter. This haunter will take you through the wall and into all of the other crates so you can repeat what I've said. That way, everyone in the other crates'll know what to do if they haven't already figured it out, and he won't have to remember anything I've said."

"What? I'm not doing that! It's putting _me_ in danger!"

A wicked "HA!" escaped my mouth, making the chatot withdraw slightly, and by the look on his face that held a pink beak, he began to use the move out of fear. "You think that nobody else is going to be in danger?" I turned around, looking Luck in the eyes and he held out his paws. I pounced onto them and followed my route to his right shoulder. "Listen!" I commanded. "This is _not _a game! Neither is it a guarantee that everyone is going to escape unharmed...or even alive." I turned to the flying pokémon. "If you lot think you're in more danger than the rest of us, you're wrong! Every one of us is going to be fighting for our lives. If a bullet from the humans' guns is fired at any of us land pokémon, we'll be more likely to be hit than any of you! Team Rocket humans will have more land than sky pokémon. That means _we _will be the ones being injured the most!" I stood proudly and high as I made my speech, and I watched as some of the bird pokémon turned away with shame. "I want you to all understand that we _have_to work as a team and co-operate if we want this to work out. The humans are going to put up a fight...and we _must_ counter it with all we've got."

Just then, a moan drew everyone's attention and gave half the pokémon near it a start. Realising it was the Team Rocket man, I continued to watch what they did next.

"AAHHH!" exclaimed a spinda nearby, using a dizzy punch with her right, red paw to hit his face. A beedrill, who had zipped over from the flying type group, hastily thrust one of her pointed needles through the man's chest, instantly killing him with a sickening squish. The man had no time to react, and couldn't possibly have seen what was coming.

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened as I held a breath in my throat. I didn't know what to do about it whilst standing there, but the scene ended with me having a single thought. _'Many Team Rocket members and pokémon are bound to be killed... That man could have been one possible murderer of someone in this room if he had lived...'_

**-ooo-**

"So you know what you've gotta do?" I asked, attempting to comfort the unsure pokémon to my left. He nodded slowly, hands on either side of two blue, folded-up-and-by-the-side-of-a-body wings. "Go!" I commanded, and the nervous haunter seemed to melt into the wooden wall without a trace. I was left staring at the spot that it vanished into, reassuring myself that the pokémon had done what I had said. And by keeping solely to the shadows, he would surely be able to stay hidden.

I turned back around to the large cluster of fellow pokémon. They all seemed fidgety and biting their lips in anticipation. I didn't blame them, though. I bothered Luck to give me a boost once more and addressed the pokémon in the crate. "Once he gets back...we're movin' out!" I yelled enthusiastically, attempting to crank up the morale.

"YEAH!" everyone cheered; I saw some smaller pokémon be tossed into the air—probably by pokémon who didn't have anything else to throw. My eyes widened, but I said nothing as I stepped back down.

**-ooo-**

Outside, human men patrolled the area, poké balls here and there on belts. Most of them had black bulging bum-bags hanging at their waists as well. Their uniforms were dirty put neat and repelling yet enticing.

Once a Rocket member with a straight face marched by, the nervous haunter bearing a flying friend slipped into the man's shadow so as not to be noticed. The ghost type was glad to be a haunter. Haunter and gengar could melt into shadows and basically become part of them. The chatot was also brought into the human's shadow, being masked by the haunter. However, unknown to the ghost type, he was covering not all of the bird pokémon.

Passing by another member of Team Rocket, the haunter hovering to keep up with the shadow removed a hand from one of the chatot's wings, reaching up to scratch its face. With the other hand, he held the uncomfortable pokémon against his body. Unknowingly the chatot—who was told _not_ to move—came into view a little.

The minion stared with a frown at the man's shadow, confused to be looking straight at a pink beak that seemed to be floating. He blinked repeatedly, and when the man rounded a corner, the perplexed grunt followed. Once he peeked his head around the side of the crate, however, he saw nothing following his fellow Rocket member. Figuring it was due to lack of sleep, the man shrugged and returned to his post.

'_Phew! That was close...'_ thought the haunter, the chatot agreeing without hesitation.

"This one!" the chatot whispered, straining to be heard over the bickering of humans and waves of the sea while simultaneously trying to stay quiet.

Making his way to the closest crate, the haunter timed his exit perfectly, slipping into the wall with the chatot cringing, not understanding how it was possible to do so.

**-ooo-**

For the fifth time so far, pokémon in their cages began to yell and pout, trying to interrogate the random free haunter and chatot. The two positioned themselves near the front of the crate where a thin strip of space fit them nicely, and the haunter cringed as his rather loud comrade began to speak over the loud uproar.

"Shut up, shut up! Listen to me at once!" the chatot exclaimed. The pokémon seemed to continue shouting, but after the flying type screamed out something about him and his partner being able to free them all, the bunch quietened down to a soft mumbling. "You have been here for a long time, trying to break free. None of you have succeeded! That is because the cages are pokémon-proof on the inside and can only be broken from the outside. The crate that this haunter and I come from is filled with as many pokémon as there are in here, but a flareon has spoken up and issued a plan to free us!" The pokémon cheered and the chatot could see that a lot of them jiggled with excitement while others sighed with relief. "I will now repeat a speech made by the flareon with my special move, chatter. It's quite long and some of you near the back may have to listen hard!"

**-ooo-**

"All young pokémon are to be evacuated by flying and water types! This should ensure that they all get to safety. All fish pokémon are to be set into the water before it's too late for them! Break this formation and you forfeit the plans for safety and freedom. Good luck, and may the Legendaries watch over you!" The end of a pre-recorded speech spoken by the fire type left pokémon of the other crates with hope. The flame in their eyes was relit, enlightening their thoughts and paths. Belief and courage arose within them, causing their breathing to become deeper and their claws sharper. Their hearts seemed to lift again, the unmistakable beating of each loud and clear.

The blue-winged pokémon who was now strongly for the escape plan slashed at cage locks with wing attack and peck, followed by sucker punches and hidden powers from the haunter. Cage after cage and crate after crate, pokémon were released. They were all excited beyond what they had been in days or possibly weeks, and filled with the appropriate attitude.

Finally the seventh crate came, and the haunter was relieved to finally be attending to the last few. He and the chatot had been at this for at least three or so hours; it was a painful process.

At one stage they were forced to wait for over twenty minutes for the path from one crate's shadow to the next to be safe from the humans patrolling the area. He and the chatot knew that it was vital that they stay hidden. In another crate, a pokémon had died from malnutrition amongst other things, and the other pokémon were not only complaining about it, but insisting that that haunter throw the body overboard, for they demanded that it be ridden of, and he could not leave it in the open where it could be seen. Therefore he'd been forced to take care of that, no matter how much he resisted, which had slowed he and his partner.

Held in a cage at the front of the bottom row, a tan coloured figure sat with her head on her brown paws. She had large green ears atop her head and a green leaf-like, jagged tail that was wrapped around her body. The haunter had noticed that at the mention of a brave flareon, the leafeon had raised her head almost in surprise. He pretended not to pay her any attention, but secretly kept a pupil on her. Figuring she must've known the flareon, he approached her after the speech had subsided.

"Do you...know that flareon?" he wondered, a little shy about talking to her.

The leafeon stared at him for a moment. "Uhh...yes. I...I think so." She swallowed and looked down, then back up. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, yes, fine. She...c-came up with the plan," he replied calmly. Pokémon around him momentarily snatched his focus as they screeched for liberation and wriggled impatiently, including two other pokémon in the same cage as the leafeon. The ghost type frowned before she spoke again.

"I gathered that," she mentioned. The haunter had a feeling she was trying not to sound rude so as not to start conflict of any kind rather than in an effort to be polite to him.

"O-oh," the haunter mumbled. Deciding the conversation ended there, he then readied a hidden power attack, closing his eyes and pressing his hands together. He looked as if he was building up pressure of some kind, only to release it when he brought his hands apart again. White spherical orbs of light were thrust out from his body and sent soaring horizontally until they came in contact with metal locks that were rusted and clamped shut. Four at once were destroyed, and the remains of the metal blocks clinked against the ground as they dropped.

Cage doors swung open, a number of pokémon swarming out of each one. This surprised the haunter, as this was the first crate which held more than one pokémon in a single cage. He figured since it was the last one, space must have been tight and therefore the humans were forced to cram as many into these cages as possible.

One of the pokémon in the cages that was liberated was the grass type. She stood up cautiously and then slipped out of the cage, the two other pokémon having exited before her, and she seemed happy to be out. Instead of thanking the haunter, the pokémon ran straight to a large buff coloured pokémon. The feline pokémon strode out of his cage, acting like he was of high importance and shook off, closing his eyes as he did so. As the haunter analysed him briefly, he noted that he was the evolved form of a meowth—a persian. The rounded red gem on his forehead glistened as his small ears, similar to a meowth's, straightened upon spotting his new company. His whiskers were smaller than his pre-evolved form, but his sleek talk with a curled end was nearly the same.

"Talyn!" exclaimed the leafeon as she dashed over by his side. She began to rub against the side of the persian's neck, and the pokémon himself looked down at her, closing his own eyes and rubbing against her head.

"Izante," he replied in a straight-forward kind of voice. Once they stopped nuzzling, he continued to look at her, not spying the haunter from the corner of his eye.

More and more pokémon spewed from their cages as time passed, and they anxiously rushed to other ones to help break more locks. The haunter saw many different pokémon—small ones, tall ones, brown ones, blue ones... He could've seen about fifty by now. But one thing that caught his attention was not the fact that there were so many pokémon, nor was it that the chatot he had escorted endlessly severed locks on cages and the cages themselves, but it was a small discussion going on in the far left corner piled with cages that were unoccupied.

Curious, the ghost type neared the two pokémon he had seen before with lowered voices. He melted into the shadows of the many cages, concealing himself slyly.

"That flareon...is that not the same flareon you have known for years?"

"I think that's her," Izante responded. She didn't seem excited as such, and she said it in an emotionless tone.

"Are you going to be escaping with her?" he questioned.

"I...I have to. ...I _do_ have obligations...and she's...my friend," the leafeon stated, raising her voice a little.

"Shh! We don't want to be heard!" the persian hushed, checking his surroundings to ensure he wasn't being watched. Upon seeing this, the haunter crept a little closer, still invisible in the casting shadows. "_Friend_? Don't tell me..." The persian shook his head disapprovingly. However, he took another path. "She's going to get in our way!" The grass type, absorbing the reality, sighed heavily, looking completely unsure of what to do. A sort of helpless expression found its way to her features, winding itself between her facial fur.

"Haunter!"

The sudden voice shook the likes of the purple ghost pokémon as he eavesdropped, almost knocking him out into the open where he would be spotted by the secretively chatting duo.

"Haunter, where in the world are you? Report here at once! We must move on!" the chatot squawked, flapping his wings with intolerance.

Sighing much like the leafeon he had just examined, the haunter made an effort not to come into the view of anyone until he popped up behind his partner. "I'm here..." he stated, barely above a whisper, levitating behind the flying type. The chatot jumped, fluttering his blue wings once more before recomposing himself and straightening his feathers.

"_Don't _do that again!" he huffed, shaking his head briefly. "Let us be off at once," he demanded, basically handing himself over to the haunter.

"Alright..." the pokémon agreed, wrapping his detached hands around the pokémon's wings. Effortlessly the haunter turned and dissolved into the wall, noting from the corner of his eye that those two suspicious pokémon were once again snuggling. It made him shudder, wondering why they were doing such a disturbing thing, and began to set his mind back on the task ahead: to free the last of the pokémon!

**-ooo-**

With the haunter and the chatot having returned some time later, I was grinning with satisfaction. All the crates had pokémon craving freedom running around in them—almost how it was supposed to be. _'And to think that I was once lying in my cage without any sort of plan...' _The thought made me realise something: I _had_ come up with this plan, and so far it was working. With the help and support of fellow pokémon, I had successfully managed to rid every pokémon on the ship of their wicked imprisonment stages and to bring them all justice. Now there was just one thing left to do before the attack—break the massive locks on the crates.

Spirits were high, and I knew that the right time to make our move was nearing. Although most of the pokémon – including me – were half-starving as a result of a lack in nourishment, I hoped we would hold up. As pokémon, I assumed us all to be tough. After all, a lot of us would naturally live in extreme weather. Ice types would live in the icelands raging with constant blizzards; most fire pokémon could withstand extreme heat temperatures – even fire itself – and rock types dealt with solid and difficult ground, treacherous mountains and the waterless underground.

"We all good?" I asked, raising my voice to be heard. The pokémon who were sorted out into groups shouted in response, cheering and roaring with excitement and agreement. They, like me, waited in anticipation for the right moment to strike. I had sent out the haunter again – this time by himself – to go around to all of the other nine crates spread throughout the massive ship to ensure that they were all ready and to then break their locks once ours was broken. Whilst he was gone, I had really gotten the crowd pumped.

"Nice work," a voice praised, not as loud as the noise surrounding me. I knew who it was and smiled without rotating my head in his direction. A sly grin crept across my face.

"Thank you, Raiys. I thought so myself," I chuckled, not boasting, but saying it humourously. He also chuckled, padding to stop beside me.

"I'm eager to get out of here. You really have done the pokémon of this crate a big favour," he added, nodding.

"Aw, well, I couldn't have done it without your motivation and Pokol's blast seeds."

"Heh," he chuckled again, acknowledging the fact that what I had said was true.

Smiling at him friendlily, I happened to notice that there was someone behind him. It was a canine pokémon like myself, but slightly larger and had blue fur. My facial expression changed instantaneously, and a frown fell onto my face out of nowhere. _'Oh—HER,' _I thought with bitterness. It was Azure—the glaceon with something against me.

"Raiys, let's group with the other pokémon," she butted in, facing him and speaking as if I wasn't there.

The quilava blinked a few times, just registering that she was there and speaking to him. "We will not be in the same elemental group," he told her, but to the statement, Azure continued to insist, however, clearly thinking something of snatching him from me. My face grew even more contempt, and I tried to talk over her pointless ranting.

"Raiys, stay here. We're not ready to go yet!" I snarled at her, leaking smoke from my nostrils.

"No—" she started, throwing a harsh contemptuous sneer at me. "Follow me. I _am _your partner."

"HEY!" I exclaimed, getting her attention. "He chooses! He was here with _me _first!" I formed a defensive battle stance, and, to my surprise – but at the same time, expectations – she, without warning, shot an ice beam at my face. It struck me head on, and I was forced to keep my eyes bound and endure the attack whilst standing my ground.

"Azure, stop it!" commanded Raiys, making a move to leap out in front of the attack. However, before he could do so, the glaceon broke off the attack.

Pieces of frost flew as I shook off once the beam faded, but it had taken a bigger toll on me than I had expected. Not because of the strength of an ice type attack like that, but because I was already weak. I flared up, fire enveloping my body until I released the pressure, and I blinked. It felt warm again, as did my toes and tips on my ears. After that was over I threw daggers at her in a piecing glare. "YOU—"

I heard the patter of pawsteps before a body appeared before my own. "You okay?" the quilava asked. I nodded, glaring past him at the stubborn and unfriendly glaceon who had seemed to look down on me with the sense that I was inferior to her.

"Dusty! There you are!" called out someone from behind. My gaze was torn from Azure to a black, blue-ringed figure approaching. He seemed somewhat relieved to have found me, and I noticed that in his wake was the same species of pokémon that had stepped on my paw a while ago.

"Hey..." I grumbled, finding that his face seemed overpowered with worry. "What's wrong?"

"You have to come quickly! There's a crazed sandslash holding a ralts hostage!" he explained, a serious expression upon his face.

"WHAT?" I yelped, confusion smacking me in the face much like the ice beam had.

"You have to hurry; he's injured her badly!"

"Oh, for—" I left my sentence there, taking off with Hakumei delaying before tailing me.

As we were running, the umbreon called out to me, "He said he wanted our leader to come forward, so, since you came up with the plan, I assumed he meant you!"

To that statement I managed to smirk quietly to myself. He had referred to me as the leader... I didn't think I'd ever be considered the head of a group or anything of the sort. But, then again, it wasn't some really important one. Focusing back on the matter at paw, I scowled, hoping he hadn't done too much damage as of yet. '_Gahh, I wonder if it's that Wulua kid again...'_

I almost slipped several times on muck and waste on my way there, running as fast as I could with pokémon everywhere. I was constantly dodging creature after creature, and a few times I had banged into a couple, and I heard Hakumei apologise for me as he passed them behind me.

Once coming into the opening of a large circle of pokémon near the very back of the crate, Hakumei and I having come from the front, I stuck out my paws and skidded to a halt a few metres in front of the sandslash who tightened his grip at the sight of me. As my dark type friend and the grotle slowed to a stop behind me, I began to assess the situation.

It _was _Wulua.

"Stay back!" the ground type demanded, the claws on one of his paws laid across a ralts' neck. The ralts' head was drooping, and I could clearly tell that she was unconscious. I knew I had to take this seriously—considering that a pokémon had already fainted. If he had used a number of attacks on her to knock her out, I knew that it was very possible for him to be now able to kill her with his claws. And if I made the wrong move, he could easily extinguish the psychic type's life.

"Wulua! What are you doing?" I blurted out, spreading my front legs further apart.

"Why are we still here?" he yelled at me, his eyes drained of their sanity. I recoiled a little at his aggressiveness, wondering what had driven him into such a state—but it then popped into my head as the most obvious thing currently on my mind It was surprising not everybody had flipped out by this stage. "Answer me!" he hollered, raising his muzzle. Pokémon around me flinched, waiting for me to step in.

"W-we have to wait for the haunter to come back," I calmly replied, my mane settling down a little. Maybe if I remained relaxed, he wouldn't feel as threatened.

"NO! Not wait, now! We have to get out NOW!" he shouted hysterically, actually worrying me a little.

"Look, just calm down! He'll be back soon," I tried to reassure, my voice a little stressed. However, I knew I wasn't telling the full truth. I had no idea when the ghost pokémon would return—but now, I hoped it was sooner than I had originally predicted.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" He pressed his long, sharp claws into the Ralts' neck, and my eyes widened.

'_A little more pressure and he could pierce her skin!' _I kept silent, watching him breathe heavily; He looked ready to explode into a rage-induced frenzy. However, when he started twitching his eyes, I had to say something. "What is it that you want?" I quietly asked, attempting to hide the frightened and/or agitated side of me.

"I want to get _OUT OF HERE_! I'm SICK of being held hostage by this wooden prison!" I then lowered my eyes, finding him a hypocrite. He was doing himself and everyone around him a disservice.

"We all do," I mentioned. "We all want to get out..." He kept up his breathing, but before he could speak, I decided to go about it another way. "...If only that stupid haunter would hurry the hell up!"

Wulua seemed to frown a little at my sudden attitude fluctuation, but the stress in his face loosened up just a little. "What's taking him SO LONG?"

"You're right! Doesn't he care about us?" I pretended to fire up. I turned to the pokémon around me, widening my eyes to enforce my encouragement for them to join in.

"He's too selfish to help us!" Wulua accused, the spikes on his back lowering.

"All he cares about is taking FOREVER!" I droned, rolling my eyes. By this stage a few more pokémon had joined in, and I smiled on the inside. My plan was working.

"He's a brainless ghost type!" he rumbled, distraction clouding his head as the pokémon in his claws slowly slid away.

"Yeah! What's the matter with him?" A look of disgust that passed across my face apparently edged on the sandslash.

"I want to get out!" he roared.

"Well, attacking the wall will help. Your claws are so strong!"

The ralts was now lying on the ground, and the sandslash's arm had dropped with her. Without a word, Wulua glanced behind him. The wall was less than four metres behind him, and as tempted as he was, suspicion kept him from releasing his prisoner and going for the jackpot.

I readied my paws as the insane pokémon considered his chances, beginning to look as if he was about to ignore his protective instincts and stick with those that told him that he wanted to escape and he would do anything to fulfil that goal. Midway in pondering over what he should do, the sandslash turned away towards the wall.

Seizing the opportunity, I lunged at the pokémon with a soundless push-off, opening my jaw and pointing my small claws at him. With a screech from my opponent, I knocked us both to the ground, and the sandslash released his grip on the fainted ralts completely. We tumbled to the end of the crate, smacking against the wall. However, much to my dismay, I was the one who slammed against it, and Wulua was in front of me. He rolled onto his back, shook, and got to his feet.

I ducked with a yelp as he thrust a clawed paw at the wall—however, since it couldn't be harmed from the inside, the claws were forced to change direction to downward, a cry emitting his mouth as a cringed. With his other paw, however, he swiped at me without hesitation, striking me in the gut. I gasped, but rapidly generated a weak shadow ball before sending it spiralling at close range into the pokémon's face. Luckily it made him vulnerable for a few moments, and quickly I glanced to my wound. It was only a scratch on the surface, thankfully.

I pounced past him, then turned to face him as my paws skidded against the wood and muck, and leaped at him with a bite—big mistake. I rammed into his spikes, causing my body to take the shock and clunk against the ground. I shook off, barely being hurt by it as they folded rather than speared me, and I jumped backwards as he suddenly swung at me with his paws yet again. Countering it with a leer attack, my piecing glare made him have to cover his eyes as if a bright light had just shone into them. Letting his guard down by mistake, I cast a flamethrower in his direction, searing the pokémon only to the point of unconsciousness. Collapsing in a heap of defeated sandslash, Wulua fainted on the floor.

"...That haunter is trying his hardest." I narrowed my eyes and exhaled in a long puff before hearing a number of worried pokémon storm over to us.

"Dusty!" called one of them. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine," I simply replied. I smiled slightly, happy that my plan had worked, but it vanished quickly as I remember that Wulua had officially gone off the sanity scale—and it seemed like nothing could make him return to a safe state of mind, posing a difficult decision as to what to do with him. "Somebody watch him," I commanded, turning around to whoever was there.

The umbreon beside me nodded to several pokémon around me—two ninjask who were cicada-like pokémon of assorted colours. Nodding, they followed orders and buzzed over to the inert ground type. Among them was also a loudred – a blue pokémon with an enormous mouth with two ears that looked as if they absorbed sound – and a shuckle who had a red shell with white rings where the holes for her long, yellow legs and neck were.

I strode over to the unconscious ralts, gathering that she looked in a somewhat fine state. I examined the pokémon briefly and nudged her. She didn't move straight away, so I took her small body softly within my jaws and trotted over to the nearby grotle standing with Hakumei. I plonked her onto his shell-armour, and his umbreon friend nudged her further up onto his back in a stable position so she wouldn't fall. I figured keeping her immobile up there was a suitable idea, being off the ground, and being in someone else's care.

Most of the pokémon around were silent. "...Don't do anything wrong, and you won't end up like that sandslash over there," I announced, nodding my head in the pokémon's direction. "Do something wrong...and you'll get the same treatment."


	9. Chapter Nine: Rough and Tough

**Chapter Nine: Rough and Tough**

After the ralts had woken up, I had asked her how she had gotten herself into such a situation. I figured that she hadn't done anything wrong—Wulua had just abruptly gone berserk at her. However, as I had asked her, she just eyed me as if I had done something unforgivable, and turned straight to Hakumei.

"I was...listening to..._her_," she hissed, gesturing with her head upwards at me, "and shortly after, that psycho maniac sandslash began to attack me."

"I see," Hakumei replied, seeming to ponder.

"Where's my ribbon?" She interrupted Hakumei's thinking and began looking about. "I was wearing it before he attacked me."

"What did it look like?" I asked, stepping into the conversation she had cut me out of.

Before she replied, she seemed to glare at me. "It's gold. Like your yellow fur but prettier."

"W—" But before I could say anything, Hakumei, by the looks of it, butted in so as to stop me starting a fight.

"Where did you last have it?" he asked calmly, drawing the ralts' attention.

"Um...over there somewhere." She pointed to the front left corner's direction, straight along the wall, as we were situated on the left but at the back.

"Do you want me to go and get it for you?" I asked, trying to sound nice but actually clenching my teeth a little.

She was silent for a few moments before replying with, "Fine. Go and retrieve it." Frowning, I began to pad in the direction she pointed. "Fetch," I heard her mutter after I was a few metres away. It _was _intended for my ears...but I wondered why on earth that little brat was being such a snob to me! I hadn't done anything to her but save her...

Muttering under my breath, I sniffed the floor for the ribbon's scent. If I was correct, it should've smelled like that ralts... But with the many, many pokémon inside this crate and so much...disgusting waste everywhere, it was proving to be not very easy to locate.

I glanced up, scanning my surroundings. I was amidst many pokémon – a lot of them in their elemental groups I had said for them to go in – but what caught my gaze was a large circle of pokémon who weren't categorised by their types. It was around where the ribbon should've been, so I decided to stride over to them to check out what they were looking at.

After approaching the circle of pokémon that had managed to distract my attention, I stuck my nose between a plump, blue and cream sealeo and a stocky nuzleaf with a green leaf atop her head. They seemed a little bothered by my intrusion, but it was soon worth it as I spotted who was the centre of attention.

"They suspect...nothing." The purple floating figure smiled, speaking with neither satisfaction nor timidness. "The humans are clueless..."

"Haunter!" I cried, pushing through the two pokémon who frowned at my actions. "You're back! How did it go?"

"...They suspect nothing! The humans didn't see me," he answered almost proudly.

"That's great—but are the others ready? All out of their cages?"

"Y-yes. I had to help, though."

"Awesome!" I quickly shouted, becoming excited on the spot. Hearing such news was clearly getting me all jittery. "We need to do one last thing before escaping." The haunter looked at me, raising an eyebrow...or whatever was a haunter's equivalent. "Break the locks!"

**-ooo-**

Back outside again, the purple ghost pokémon stuck to the growing shadows around the ship. He, one last time, was going from crate to crate, letting the pokémon who were still prisoners to the sea vessel know what he was doing. This was the third time he would be entering the crates that day. Why hadn't that flareon just asked him to do it in one go? _'Oh well,'_ he thought, watching as a human wielding a device that displayed light marched past him without noticing him. _'I guess striking at night is a good plan, anyway... And she probably knows what she's doing...hopefully.' _

He arrived at the front of a particular cage, slipping inside and calling out to the pokémon—who were, thankfully, willing to listen up and formed in their elemental type groups. He began to stutter once the attention all came down on him, but he swallowed, built up his courage, and then told them that he was about to break their crate's lock from the outside. He said that when he and/or any other ghost pokémon came in through the wall and gave them the order to attack, they would be able to storm out by breaking the door open – or down – with ease then that their lock had been broken. He also explained how the inside of the crates were soundproof, which was presumably part of their isolation program, and explained why no Team Rocket members had come in to see what all the noise was.

The pokémon howled with pleasure and excitement, ready to give the evil Team Rocket a taste of their own pokéblocks! The haunter would join in, of course, with all of this and contribute to the destruction of this human ship which travelled through the middle of nowhere.

The pokémon would take the Rockets by surprise, starting with Dusty's crate to make them feel like they have the upper hand, but eventually, as the haunter melted into each wall of other pokémon's crates, everyone else would help with the brilliant plan and ultimately take over. They would make sure the ship was left in pieces, and the humans were destined to be stranded out in the ocean, probably never to see land again alive. Their pokémon would go with them, if that was the case, or else attempt to seek revenge on their own by joining the freedom fighters.

But then again—who knew how this would all turn out? For all this haunter knew, everything could backfire and they could end up all being tortured and thrown into other smaller and rusting cages. On top of that, the Rocket count was unknown, and therefore nobody could be sure how outnumbered they would be. Maybe the prisoners would be outnumbered, causing inconvenience for all pokémon who had once been locked in metal cages. Not one soul wanted it to turn out that way, however, and hopefully their desire would keep Arceus from letting them down.

Again and again the haunter hid in the shadows which were casting themselves in blotches around the ship, darkening the day and making it harder for the humans to make out where things were; their eyesight was poor in the dark. But with the cylindrical objects they held in their hands, light was projected upon their wishing. However, it was only a line of light; although long, the beams weren't widespread.

This pleased the haunter as he thought about it whilst slipping into another shadow. He knew that if one of their devices shone on him, however, his presence would be revealed. _'But, then again,'_ he thought, _'they could either assume that I had escaped or that I was a new pokémon who happened to wander onto the ship. Since they probably assume that their system is foolproof, maybe I could just—'_ The purple ghost pokémon squealed as he shielded his eyes with his two hands in response to a blinding bright light.

"Halt!" yelled a human voice, his footsteps an indication of his nearing presence.

'_Oh, crap,'_ thought the haunter hastily. However, he decided that he better not slip into the wall next to him. Although it would be an easy escape route, he would probably be better off being caught by a Rocket and thrown into a new cage. If he simply sunk into the wall, the man might become suspicious... He wasn't going to take chances and draw attention to the crate and possibly endanger the inhabitants. That would be reckless and unintelligent.

"Don't move, you pokémon scum!" he ranted, and the haunter sighed.

'_I'm not moving...'_

Soon enough, the man had called out a meowth to attack him. However, since meowth were normal types, the haunter knew that he wouldn't be harmed by any of their usual attacks—and he was right. Little did he know about the man's friend's mightyena, however, which used bite on him. Being a ghost type, most pokémon would expect the haunter to be non-solid matter. However, he was as real as an igglybuff's rubber-like body.

As the sharp teeth of the grey and black pokémon struck him, he yelped, but did nothing in his defence on purpose. The pokémon's nose was red, and he could see that from his view. He had two black stripes that trailed from his back onto the front of his face, and he had black legs.

The haunter endured the attack as the jaws were clenched tightly around his lower body, and the first man who had stopped him was dismissed by the Rocket who owned the dark type pokémon that was latched onto the haunter. The man recalled his meowth – which looked in a poor condition – and the haunter was quickly taken downstairs into an office of some sort which held a large, frowning man who looked most indifferent.

He was wearing a different uniform to the Team Rocket minions—one that was rather like a suit and that lacked the gloves, boots and a hat that the other uniforms had. Under his jacket was a white shirt that stood out against the black. "What?" he growled rather demandingly. The grunt seemed to straighten and speak with a wobbly and somewhat cowardly tone.

"Uh, th-this pokémon was found wandering the sh-ship, sir," he explained, trying his hardest to keep his brown eyes locked with those of his superior's. The higher-ranked man, who sat behind a desk and on a large black chair, shifted his gaze to the haunter in a timid mightyena's mouth. The pokémon must've felt the way his trainer – if you could call Team Rocket men trainers – felt towards the man.

"Cage it. Must be either a wild one or another one of you girls' pokémon," he grunted, the top of his lip twitching with what seemed to be contempt for the creature. "Throw it in one of the crates. I don't give a rattata's arse which one. Just don't let it go. Any extra pokémon for labour and money is useful." He looked about to get back to his papers before adding, "And check the internal cargo hold once you're done with that."

_'Internal cargo hold?'_ the haunter thought in shock. _'This means there's another place full of pokémon!'_

"Y-yes, sir!" the minion saluted to the man, almost shakily hurrying out of the office. In spite of how much the haunter was in pain, he managed to utter a harsh chuckle. Although, it made the pokémon carrying him without a care in the world for his wellbeing simply squeeze his jaws tighter as punishment.

"Arghh," the ghost type cringed, his body increasingly finding it harder to inhale oxygen.

The Team Rocket minion proceeded down a long hall that the haunter would've found somewhat fascinating if he hadn't been in a mightyena's mouth. He was carried, still hanging upside-down, past several rooms. Smells of different sorts wafted in his direction, and he had to hold his breath as particular doorways passed by. One of the rooms, which smelled like chemicals and other bitter human products, occupied a man with black fur on his head and round lenses stationary on the bridge of his nose. His fur was neatly cut and short, and he had his forearms behind his back. He wore a long, white human jacket, which looked like it clipped together in the middle. The rest of the room looked pristine and white, but disturbing at the same time. How could a room with cooking chemicals be clean?

The male human stepped forward as the haunter and his two captors passed by, but seemed to call out to them. The Rocket came to a halt and turned inside. However, the dark canine pokémon stayed put outside. He took a seat on the floor, the ghost type hanging from his mouth. The haunter had gotten used to the pain now, and he noticed that the jaws were relaxing a little bit, so the pressure wasn't so much.

The humans discussed some things, and apparently the one who was in the white pelt mistook the minion for someone of higher importance. The haunter could hear about apparent chemicals that the human was telling the Rocket about, and he heard that one of them was unmistakably labelled by him as 'hydrochloric acid'. The haunter could see a sheet of thin silver metal that was significantly large leaning up against the wall. He could hear bubbling and spluttering of some sort, and there was something wafting his way which reminded him of bananas crossed with...a substance that humans used to run their 'automobiles'. It was called 'petrol'.

'_Banana petrol...?'_

**-ooo-**

"Banana petrol? HAH!" I laughed – or out-burst – at the comment made by the haunter who floated next to me.

"Y-yeah..." he confirmed, seeming to giggle a little.

"Anyway, that's another human we won't need to worry about," I stated, motioning to a body lying unconscious against the wooden wall of our crate.

Once my friend, the haunter, had brought two captors (one being the human's pokémon) with him to the crate as he rested in a new cage – which we broke with ease – the Rocket man issued his mightyena to attack. Before the male pokémon had a chance, the pokémon of the crate panicked and attacked the human. One blow of an iron tail by a raticate instantaneously rendered him no longer conscious, which, I figured, was necessary. We would kill him shortly, but first he would be the hostage that we display to the Team Rocket members as a decoy for when the haunter would go around to the insides of the crates and inform the pokémon of their release time. According to the ghost pokémon, the eight of the crates' locks had been shattered, and ours was one of the last ones—as he was captured by the Rocket before he could do anything, and therefore he didn't have a chance. Lucky he hadn't done it yet though—if that Rocket had realised that when he came to our crate – which he probably selected as the cage to put the haunter in for its low pokémon count – to lock him up in, he could've seen the severed lock and made a fuss over it.

The mightyena that accompanied him was threatened by a few of us, but he had given in (typical for a Team Rocket member) and said that he didn't want to fight us, the innocent pokémon. I was glad he refused the offer to stick with his trainer, though. It meant one more pokémon to fight on our side, and one to be taken off Team Rocket's side. It also meant we didn't have to silence him, and the dark type explained that he never wanted to be a Team Rocket pokémon anyway, and they had only caught him for his threatening appearance and skills in battle. He had shown us his trainer's other poké balls, which contained a zubat and a bronzor. They, too, were more happy than not to join our side—which suited us just fine.

**-ooo-**

"Okay—shush!" I exclaimed, attempting to silence the group of pokémon in the crate I was apparently in charge of. "He's going to break our lock now!" I yelled again, once again standing on my pal, Luck, for height. "Where's that mightyena?" I asked, scanning the room.

When someone near the front row stepped forward, I whispered to him to take the human outside before we killed him. The same beedrill that had killed the previous human would do the job quickly and simply, and _then_ they would attack the Rockets. The mightyena nodded, jogging across to his previous master's side. He clamped his jaws around his arm, but carefully so as not to wake him. I bit my lip. Getting the mightyena to assist us in his trainer's death was risky, but a test of where his loyalty lay. I knew I could never harm my master, but hopefully his was horrible enough to kill.

"He's just gonna break the crate next door's lock first, and then ours. We shall all be ready to fight within less than thirty seconds!"

Everyone hesitated to begin to chant. We all trembled to begin with—what would the fight turn out like? Would we win, or...would we all die? How many Team Rocket members were there out there with their many pokémon among them? Would our numbers be great enough to fend them all off? Only time would tell. Only if our courage helped us pull through. Only if we overcame that sense of doubt and lack of faith.

"SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO...ONE!" Within the next few moments of cheering pokémon, the door creaked slightly open. It silenced us all; even I stopped moving. I could feel the tension build as the near-impossible thought of our liberation surged through the hearts of us all.

"...FREEEEEEDOMMM!" I yelled once spotting the haunter's purple body peep in.

"YEAAAHHH!" everyone roared over all other noise, stampeding through the enormous gates of prison and back into the real world—where they belonged! Vibrations were forced not only through the crate's wooden, cleanliness-ridden floor, but probably throughout the whole ship's surface!

The only things I could hear were pokémon's battle calls being shouted at the tops of their lungs and the stomps and steps of the escapees. I let a huge grin creep across my face as I leaped down from Luck's shoulders once the crowd had pretty much filed out, competing against each other to be free, and I rushed over to any remaining, usually small pokémon who had been trampled. Most of them were okay, but a few had been knocked out already. I helped the awake ones up and gave them smiles, and Luck tended to those who were unconscious. I noted that the human was gone, and I assumed that his pokémon had dragged him out. Good thing, too—it meant he was becoming less and less attached to him. I couldn't image anyone with an attachment to a Team Rocket member personally, though.

Gathering myself and holding my fluffy chest high, I coated my body with a gush of flames, feeling the heat surge through my veins. I let out a long, loud growl, listing all the attacks I could bestow upon the humans and their pokémon. I pictured each and every one of them, allowing my eyelids to fall. Focus was required to battle, and as soon as I stepped outside, I would expect to immediately enter some sort of battle. Side by side, all of us would get through this terrible episode we all had to live through, and we'd fight to the end. Support would hold us together, and if we all believed enough, we would all survive and prevail; helping each other was the key to survival.

Hopefully everyone had all listened to me and they would get the fish pokémon into the water first, then secretly ship off the baby pokémon or any other not able-bodied. The last thing that I wanted was for the little ones to be hurt, and for the sick to perish before their time. Everyone was important, but the pokémon had to understand that the weak were first on the agenda. They most-likely couldn't fight properly, so there was no point in having them on the ship anyway.

I had organised for some pelipper to carry pokémon like any togepi or cleffa in their large bills to shore. Pokémon like lumineon and golduck could carry pokémon under the water if not on the surface, since I did know most water pokémon to be very skilled and fast swimmers.

Getting my mind back on track, I set my goals on one thing: escaping alive and doing anything in the process that would help. And not only for just me to escape...but every other innocent pokémon who had done nothing to deserve what they've had to endure...


	10. Chapter Ten: Futile Conflict

Just as a heads up, Dusty swears in this chapter. xDD

**Chapter Ten: Futile Conflict**

I bounded to the doors to the large crate, emerging into the salty air. The smell hit my nose like a rock; it was such a different change from what was previously poisoning my nostrils—a somewhat pleasant change. The sloshing sound of the waves met my ears with a warm welcome, and it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Slightly surprised by the fact that I wasn't lunged at as soon as I stepped outside, I began to find out why. I interviewed a pokémon nearby, being informed that at the front of the huge number of pokémon was the mightyena with the human male in his mouth. I pushed my way through the crowd, wanting the credit for conducting this bunch of pokémon, and I managed to find my way to the mightyena. I grinned at the sight of so many Rocket humans piling up to witness what was happening, and some of them were not moving at all, worried about the mightyena's decision. A buzzing noise also drew their attention, and I soon realised what it was: the beedrill. She was rubbing her large, twin spikes she had for arms together, generating a grinding noise that was all that could be heard aside from the blue waves.

One of the Rockets moved, however, much to my surprise, and out popped a meowth. The pairs of whiskers poking from the sides of his head were bent down, and one was even absent. The golden coin-like object resting on his head appeared to be rusted and dirty, with sections chipped off and a greasy substance smeared across it.

His 'trainer' spoke to him, presumably instructing the normal type to communicate with us. The meowth nodded his head briskly, seemly eager to tear his fearful eyes from the Rocket man and over to me.

"I... Uh, Master wants to know how youse gots outta y' cages, an' why ya has his co-worker hostage," the meowth stuttered in the humans' language, his words spoken quietly. I didn't know if he was talking to me or the mightyena to my right, but I decided to answer. Luckily I could understand human speech—only one language of it, though. At first, I suspected that I was hearing his speech wrongly, but I then realised that it was merely because he couldn't speak the humans' language properly.

I looked at him with sympathy. "We..." I began to say, drawing a deep breath. "We're rebelling. Team Rocket won't get this man back."

The meowth translated my words to the humans, and they all seemed to stiffen, their lips pressing together. With a sudden outbreak of words in a harsh tone, the meowth's master shouted at him again.

After cringing, the pokémon turned to me again, this time looking as if he was trying his hardest to be brave—but about his trainer, not because he was trying to stand up to me_. _"WHY...not?" he questioned, his teeth gritted as a result of his fear. I noticed he had his claws drawn, most of them chipped and dirty.

"B-because! They shouldn't treat _any_ of us like their subordinates!" I scoffed, taking a step forward so as to emphasise my point. The mightyena tightened his grip on the human while the big yellow bug pokémon with red eyes and flitting wings needed not to rush to the human's front, holding the tip of one of her long, pointed drill-like cone-shaped arms to the human's neck.

"MEOW!" the cat-like pokémon screeched, enduring a slap from his master's hand. He then clenched the pokémon's tail, hearing the poor thing scream as he brought him to his face. The meowth whimpered, drawing his paws in together as he hung upside-down.

"I SAID, stop them!" raged the human, then thrust the pokémon to the ground ruthlessly. "Is it _that_ hard?"

"Stop it!" I exclaimed, but of course the humans would only hear me yelling my species name. A rumble in my throat showed my anger and disapproval of the human's actions, and my spine seemed to rise as my fur bristled. My tail rose as well, fluffing up more than usual. I immediately thought back to Roarake's trainer as I began to growl even louder. Without hesitation I shouted at the meowth to come and join us. To rebel and take matters into his own paws.

After taking a few paces away from his trainer and towards me, he became shocked and still; he had obviously never considered doing such a thing. For a trainer to abandon a pokémon was cruel and wrong, but to abandon a trainer was ultimately betrayal and it, too, seemed wrong. It was like leaving your mother too early, or deserting your best friend. However, the meowth then pondered for mere seconds that seemed more like hours.

His trainer was not his mother. His trainer was not his best friend. In fact, he was _far_ from it. His trainer had never been good to him. He had never hugged him, fed him treats, congratulated him, praised him, talked to him nicely or shown him affection of any kind—not even a pat on the head. He was forced to battle under harsh circumstances, and was barely healed between fights. The food he had only ever eaten were scraps that would sometimes be dirty from the ground, or cheap pokémon food with virtually no goodness in it. Consequently he was very skinny, his ribs easily shown, and his fur was matted and in terrible condition. He clearly had poor health, his teeth yellow and cracked and his muscles weak and frail.

When he had come to think of it...he had never been fond of his master. _Never_. He hadn't even liked him. _Not ever_.

Other Team Rocket pokémon had boasted about how well off they were with their masters, but this meowth could not once understand. The only reason he even stayed with his master was because he imagined that he was never able to escape. Else, it was pure and simple fear. The thought of becoming free was such a dream...and he suddenly realised it could become a reality. The pokémon in one massive group before him were all captured, and were somehow...free. Maybe he could become free as well. Free of Team Rocket, free of his miserable life, and free of his master.

"...No," the white feline pokémon stated firmly. He was shaking on the outside and frightened to his core. All eyes shifted to him as his back turned to his master and his face became stern and decided.

"_What_?" The human formed a hideous sneer. "...DON'T be a fool, you worthless rat!" boomed the sick-minded human. He attempted to approach his pokémon, but the meowth span to face him, baring his fangs and tightening his disdainful face. Three claws on each paw revealed gleamed dangerously, and the Rocket man halted only a few paces away from the scratch cat pokémon.

"I is _not_ w-worth less than you!" the meowth hissed, moving a brown back paw backwards towards us. Half of it remained upwards, his pink, dirtied pads drawing my eyes for a heartbeat.

"I AM YOUR MASTER! Follow my orders or prepare to be beaten by my own fists!"

"NO! You is NOT my master! Masters are kind! Masters treat his pokémon with respect! MASTERS _CARE_!" With a final yell, the meowth snapped. In a flash, he had lunged at the Team Rocket member and in a fury of anger and revenge, he sliced at the man's face, scarlet drops splashing up onto the pokémon.

The man bellowed with agony, and the other Rockets did not delay in rushing to throw the crazed meowth off their fellow worker—probably to exterminate the pokémon shortly after. A few humans removed their weapons from their holsters, and I gasped.

Fearing that it was the end for the enslaved pokémon unless I acted instantaneously, I howled at the top of my lungs for my army to stampede to the rescue. Before we all took off, the sound of flesh being pierced and severed floated to my ears with haste, and I immediately knew that our human hostage had had a long, spear-like drill bit planted into his neck.

I pounded the ship's surface floor with my paws as I loped towards my new ally, not realising I was just in time to have him slam into me. The force was not great, but I fell over, tangled with the normal type. We both scowled, getting to our paws and wasting no time. A look of relieved gratefulness flashed athwart the pokémon's face before he took off again as the galloping pokémon around us swarmed around the Rockets, and I could've sworn that I spotted my trusty haunter friend melt into the walls of the crate next to ours. It made me snicker, rethinking about how we would probably double if not triple their numbers.

**-ooo-**

"Hurry up, Bagon!" squeaked a small voice.

"I'm trying! It's a little...difficult. I'm s-scared," came another rustier but still young one.

"Quickly, now! We want to be as fast as we can!" an older, female voice urged subtly, following the orders of a dark almost cat-like pokémon instructing her.

Making a leap for it, a short blue pokémon with stubby arms and a silver helmet-like head feature landed with a thump on a darker blue fish-like pokémon's back. Large butterfly-like wings expanded from the fish pokémon's body, which was lined with a much lighter blue. The bagon went to grip these, but as he did so, the water type shot him a red-eyed glare. Instead he turned nervously to his friend.

The pokémon who had been on the water type first was yellow with black ear tips and tail and quite petite—the smallest of the three. The pichu, as her species was named, helped her friend's confidence by steadying him on the lumineon's back, ensuring that the pokémon taller than her wouldn't slip off and tumble into the sea below. Her small paws weren't much good, and she was not strong, but at least her bagon friend avoided falling; instead, he lay on his front so he didn't have to balance.

"Go!" a rushed, hasty voice insisted, her large claws moving in a shuffling motion. Water rippled across the top of the sea as the lumineon sank below the surface, her passengers holding onto their breaths and attempting to grip the water type's slippery back.

Several of the water ferries set off with pokémon on their back, transporting them away from the danger that was lingering just around the bend. Almost all of the baby pokémon had been shipped back to land, and a sealeo was the one to be leading the shoal to their destinations. It was a long way away, so once certain pokémon knew the way by themselves, the sealeo would take it upon himself to speed back through the water to the ship to assist more pokémon.

Turning around to gather the last of the few remaining pokémon, Zhol the sneasel blinked repetitively after finding herself looking upon a small blue pokémon. She had a protruding bobble on her head and squinted eyes, with small circular feet and a flat black tail that ended roundly. Two arm-like ear-type features came down from her head, and she used them to press against the deck. The pokémon had her face to the floor and was frowning delicately, her zigzag mouth barely moving.

Taking a second or two to figure out what the wynaut was doing, Zhol zipped away from her post. "What are you doing?" she asked quickly, studying the blue psychic type. The wynaut's head rose, her strange black eyes fixed on the something she had been distracted by.

"Hole!" she exclaimed, not taking her eyes from what she was looking at.

Zhol felt a frown tugging her eyebrows, and followed the wynaut's gaze down to a diminutive opening in the ship's top floor. She opened her mouth, two pointed fangs being revealed, and set her long-clawed paws onto the surface. She focused her pupil and attempted to scan whatever could be seen through the hole. At first there was nothing, but as her nocturnal-trainer eye focused, she gasped and pulled her head away. "...Pokémon," she whispered wearily, confused by simple factors. Moving cautiously, she returned to her feet and gave the wynaut an approving nod.

In a hurry, the blue pokémon waddle-ran to the white, single-horned dewgong who was waiting for her. The long limbs coming from her head jiggled back and forth as she ran, and her bobble was blown backwards. Zhol was not distracted as she turned back to the hole, despite being at the wrong angle to see through it. _'...There are more pokémon to free, but...getting down one floor is a challenge in itself.' _She thought hard before coming to a conclusion.

**-ooo-**

"Well, I know _I_ would not have come back to the ship if it weren't for that pushy flareon's inspiring speech. Hearing it actually changed my mind, ironically enough," explained a navy blue bird pokémon as his large wings beat the air.

"Inspiring? _Ha_!" retorted a pokémon of the same breed, although she was more a lighter black than so much blue. Her underbelly was white, and her chest was coated with dark red feathers. She opened her yellow beak and flicked her two-pronged tail as she scoffed, "I thought it was rather stupid!"

"What? 'Stupid' my tail feathers!" squawked the male swellow, clearly upset with his flight companion. "If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be free!"

Taken aback, the female flying type widened her eyes in disgust and surprise. "Well..." she started, at a loss for words. The stranger – the other swellow – soon came to assume that the female was probably expecting him to agree with her.

They continued to soar in the opposite direction to the human's generously large ship, the wind brushing past their delicate feathers and rippling down the rest of their bodies. The single baby pokémon in their grips whimpered as they were carried trees and trees – in regard to height – above solid ground. However, none of them dared to even think of squirming. If they slipped from their carriers' grasps...who knows what would happen to them?

Other pokémon were in the flock, making their ways to the land which was not yet in view. It would soon be, however, and they could confirm that because of other pokémon who had returned to the ship and let everyone know where the land was.

The moonlit water guided the flying types across the expanse of ocean, careful not to get them lost. Each wave was directed to the shore, and the white, fluffy foam being carried on their tops seemed to become mangled involuntarily with the salty liquid.

As another flying type cruised leisurely behind the rest of the flock, the small pokémon in her grip's eyes danced graciously, following the sparkles shimmering across the sea's surface. His long brown ears both tipped with cream fluff were blown backwards in the soft wind, probably tickling the feet of the bird pokémon carrying him. His small paws were held against his chest, the right one's crusty scab being bristled by the short brown hairs.

Two back paws were dangling in the breeze, their pink pads showing up on their undersides. His small black eyes held great interest as they didn't take themselves off the wondrous sight, but he couldn't help squinting as the wind's paws poked at them. He felt the shallow scar curving across his right eye being exposed to the wind's currents, which bothered him a fraction.

He finally was forced to close them, his cream coloured rounded eyebrows pressing down carefully. He sighed, opening them into slits so he was looking behind him. He began to feel marginally woozy as he was carried further, as he was facing directly below and straight at the intense waves. The bird pokémon had him by his waist, the talons wedged perfectly into the thick cloud of warm torso fluff, and as a result, the normal type was both unharmed and reasonably safe. The claws were just missing the large gap between two sections of the front of the fur. It had been separated some time ago—around the same time he received scars across various parts of his body.

The buneary gave a contented yawn, his tongue showing as his lips made way for the gaping hole of his mouth. _'I'm glad I don't have to battle,' _he thought happily, _'but I hope everyone gets out safely.' _He pondered over why Team Rocket would have wanted so many pokémon, and why they didn't just go out and catch pokémon themselves. It didn't last long before he locked the thoughts away as a different thought came into mind. _'I wonder when I'm going to get back home...'_

**-ooo-**

"Go! Go off and release them all! Great job with the others—now finish what you started," I commanded, my words flowing out hastily to the haunter levitating on the other side of a collapsed pokémon. He nodded and disappeared off into the night, fusing with numerous shadows. "Set them free..." I uttered, amused by the sight before me.

Countless Team Rocket pokémon were being brought down by the pokémon of the crates, helping in liberating themselves and fighting for each other. Humans were also being seized and tossed into the bottomless sea, being disposed of without a soul having to worry about them again. Their remaining pokémon would either be defeated and tossed over as well, or some would request mercy and elect to switch sides. I did underestimate their numbers a little bit, but with eight crates having their large wooden doors wide open, the innocent, 'good' pokémon were pouring out in unexpectedly high numbers.

Finding that a blue pokémon with no eyes and a hole in its head was flitting towards me, screaming at the top of its little lungs with a supersonic, I bent my ears down before whipping up a flamethrower. A burning sensation fizzled and then a stream of fire blazed towards the bat-like pokémon. Before the Team Rocket pokémon knew it, it dropped from the air and onto the ground with a _thp. _

Pleased with the result although secretly upset I had to injure such a defenceless pokémon, I turned tail and bolted by using a quick attack to a nearby large, tall-standing purple snake pokémon with rings coiling themselves down her body. A powerful, thick tail was supporting her full weight, and the almost frightening black, yellow and red jagged design on a large flap-like chest made me recoil slightly. The marking appeared to be an intimidating face painted on the arbok's skin which turned to me once the poison type had thrown a long brown and cream coloured furret aside with her snapper.

I continued to feel my body fly across the floor, my legs frantically snapping back and forth to propel my body whilst barely skimming the actual hardened surface. I became increasingly closer, and it was too late for me to dodge a flurry of white, glowing needle-like objects. They all hammered into me, breaking into pieces whilst causing damage. However, by simply staying put, the arbok had not had time to evade my own attack, and when I came close enough, my body slammed into hers, making the tall standing pokémon cry out in a grunt.

A thump sounded as I landed at her base, springing backwards in time to miss one of her tail whips. Countering it in midair, I opened my jaws widely, summoning a black matter-composed shadow ball. My body felt as if it was strengthening, and I was thrust backwards as the attack was sent spiralling into the pokémon's flap-like skin. The shadow ball was, as everyone knew, more powerful in the time of shadows. It made the ghost type move deal more damage to its target, which situated me at the good end.

With an agitated hiss, the ekans evolution lunged at me open-mouthed and struck my leg with a bite attack. "AHH!" I yelped alarmingly. My head flung around to meet the distracted poison type's colourless eyes. They held just about no emotion; all of it had probably been driven from them at a young age or shortly after being caught and tamed by the sinister Team Rocket organisation. However, since I had mine burning alive inside me, I could react. "Gahh! Get off!" I yelled in her near invisible ears, preparing a weak, quick and hot flamethrower.

Stinging the arbok's face, a screech issued my release. I shook off, licking my leg. Since the arbok's fangs, which only jutted from the front of her mouth, missed my leg, no blood had been drawn. It pleased me to see the arbok fleeing, but it saddened me also to see a great pokémon like that slither away in fright, only to come across another form of prey and attempt to attack it. However, it was definitely the wrong sort of 'prey' to be picking on.

With an icy cold breeze I could feel from where I was standing, a familiar form vomited out what looked to be an ice beam. Shards of sharp ice engulfed with frozen water were shooting from a blue canine pokémon's form, smashing into the cobra pokémon's sleek body. The poison type came across like a machine: a soulless robot following orders to attack innocent creatures and continue moving on to different pokémon in order to satisfy its master, probably only to then be rewarded with another tiring battle and maybe scraps afterward—if it was one of the lucky ones.

'_Holy miltank...'_ My thought came to be loud and clear as I relaxed my tensed muscles and unblinkingly kept my big black eyes steady on the poor _slave_ only a few metres before me. _'Probably all of Team Rocket's pokémon are treated like this...'_ It was almost bewildering to visualise a scenario so punishingly terrible. _'No love, no treats...maybe the occasional member would treat their pokémon with love, though. The young, inexperienced ones who have yet to learn how to...abandon their feelings for their precious companions...'_ I, for one, could _never_ have imagined my trainer treating me as I imagined these poor souls were being treated. My master was kind, caring; she was lovely to communicate – as best we could – with and be around. It wasn't until now when I realised what else could be happening in this world. Surely, worse things than _this _would be happening to unsuspecting po—

"Having trouble keeping up?" a mocking voice taunted, biting me into the present. "Hmph, well, I wouldn't expect you to be up to my standards."

I focused my vision on a now-clear view of a glaceon. Her smug smirk showed just how condescending she was and meant to be towards me. I blinked several times, gathering what she had said, before coming up with a reply. "Get away from me," I spat, returning her look but without the self-satisfying smile. Mine was mere scorn.

"Suit yourself," she answered poshly, flicking her long, dangling blue locks. "You clearly think you can handle Team Rocket on your own."

"I've gotten this far!" I snapped back, my ears flat against my head while baring my teeth threateningly. "You did _nothing _to help these pokémon! What did I do? _Just look around, bitch._ Maybe using your eyes instead o' that dirty mouth o' yours would be a nice change!" And with that, I flung my fluffy tail in the air, showing my (not pretty) rear to her face. I heard her scoff with disgust—presumably at my language, correctness _and_ my, uh...heinie.

I blew through my nose, frustrated, but glad to have redeemed myself even slightly. But before I could get far, a rather flickering Azure materialised right in front of my nose. Shrieking after having not expected it, I almost tripped over my tail and fell onto my backside. "Wh-what the?" As an echoing voice found its way to my ears, I couldn't help but to stare around with confused expressions.

"Nobody—_nobody_ insults me!" she roared hostilely. With the anger building up around me, I felt almost uneasy! Azure had gone crazy, had she not?

My theory was proven as the pissed off glaceon sent flurries of pointed yellow stars from her mouth. Eight separate bunches were dealt in my direction, and I was doomed not to know which group were the legit, real ones that would injure me. I closed my eyes, not having time to react, and the attacks first went through me, but it was clear that one bunch did strike, making me cringe for the time I was being hit. _'I've got to eliminate these fake copies! She can't renew her other copies once she's drawn them back, so even one at a time would suffice for the time being!' _With confidence for my throat, I provoked my fire-storing sacs to expel another attack. So, drawing more power from my trusty body, I snapped my mouth open, a golden orb of a newborn flamethrower growing behind the visibility of my tongue. Then with the anger I felt for the attacking pokémon, I unleashed my fire on the Azure in front of me, the two next to it and the next two who were to my right. They all disintegrated the instant they were licked by the flames—just like a normal ice type should have when hit by a fire attack.

The remaining three simultaneously lunged at me, and I had to admit that I didn't know which one to dodge. Their tails were shining with a blue light as they bounded towards me with...smiles? The Azures had smiles on their faces. Not friendly smiles, though. They were greasy smiles of superiority and an assumption that they would win. It made me want to spit. However, focusing back on the attack, I noticed the apparent flow of water sloshing within the blue glow and the bubbles rolling off and becoming airborne. The figures closed in on me, and I suddenly wished I knew double team! But then it struck me: speed.

In the last possible heartbeat, I bolted away and into a white, brown and green pokémon with another quick attack. I was glad to have avoided an aqua tail, but slamming straight into another ice type's back and tumbling over with him wasn't the plan I had in mind.

The pokémon I knew was on Team Rocket's side turned to me quickly once we stood up, but I was ready. A flamethrower blazed in his face, knocking him out instantly due to the type advantage. I looked at his motionless body without pity, but thinking myself lucky to have attacked a pokémon not on my side. His almost branch-like arms – most of them being white – were deep green and pointed with four fingers. He didn't appear to have a mouth or nose, but the two eyes resting just below a white three-pointed head feature upon his head were large enough to recognise. Since his body was reasonably egg-shaped, there was no way I would have expected him to be a speedy runner. And, undoubtedly, he wasn't.

Disregarding what I had just done and remembering about the fight I was in, I realised something. I shouldn't be battling with a supposed ally. Azure the glaceon was 'apparently' on my side, and we were required to work together as a team. But instead we were wasting time and energy in a pointless fight to prove who was better. And anyway—what exactly was there to prove? It was clear that I was better, stronger and more decent-natured, but I guess she just couldn't admit to it. _'Reminds me of me...stubborn...' _I thought to myself, nearly unaware of the ice building up before being blasted my way. _'Also reminds me of Izante...' _And it was only then when I snapped myself out of it. "...IZANTE! She'll be out of her cage by now!" And with a surprisingly fast jolt of energy to help me avoid Azure's attack, I sped past the fainted snover, over a few other pokémon that I, for fun, sprayed fire onto as I passed, and closed my eyes as I turned to my nose. '_Help me!' _My ears perked up and I positioned myself to be completely still.

Pokémon of all sorts, shapes, sizes and ages were fighting; they battled it out as I relied on my senses to search for me. One after the other, pokémon of both the cages and of Team Rocket were being hauled over the side of the ship, thrown onto the floor or outnumbered in unfair groups. Sometimes it was for the better, of course, because it forced the Team Rocket pokémon into changing alliances and murdering their bosses. However, other times it was to taunt not so strong pokémon of the crates, and snicker at them before torturing them and disposing of their bodies over the edge—else making a snack of them once they were defenceless. However, the carnivores were not only on Team Rocket's side, and occasionally I would see one tearing up a Team Rocket rattata or spearow. Personally I felt it was the wrong time and place to be doing such a thing, but on the contrary, they would not have eaten in a collection of days.

'_Dusty! Izante!' _I repeated, the recurring thought flashing in my head. I took off once more, not knowing where I was going, and kept my eyes peeled this time in case I happened to spot her. _'You twit! Why didn't you think of this earlier?' _

"D-DUSTY!" a voice yelped, literally making me jump to the left with surprise. Instantly making my erected and I aimed for the ground. Once I landed, I anxiously darted my eyes from pokémon to pokémon until they set themselves onto a surrounded-by-pokémon...pokémon! I recognised him, though...those bushes on his back and those stumpy legs...

_I flinched as a something heavy stepped on top of my paw, dirtying it all the more, and I flicked my head to its direction. In front of me was a round, mostly green-coloured pokémon with two bushes on its back. I could see three large legs rounded off with thick paws from this angle, but there were obviously four. I ascended to his face, noting that half his head was cut off by the large yellow armour he carried on his back. His mouth was hooked, and his cheeks came to points and were yellow, matching the bottom jaw. As fancy and nature-loving as he was, he had no excuse for standing on my now-thumping toes!_

"That's right!" I barked—I'd have clicked my fingers like the humans do if I had them. Doing it with toes seemed ridiculous and un-pokémon-like.

"Dusty, help!" he called to me again, and that's when I realised that the green and yellow pokémon was in a damsel-in-distress situation...although he was a dude-in-distress. I kept my eyes in his direction, seeing the stuck pokémon encircled with two arbok, a hitmonchan, a meowth, two golbat and a gligar. It was hard to tell what they looked like properly in the dark, but once they all turned around, I managed a better squiz at them. The hitmonchan was mostly a bleached brown with high, pad-like shoulders. It had a red glove as each hand, and a faded purple grey dress-like body frilled at the bottom and marked in the middle with a black belt. I chuckled mockingly, remembering how Master used to wear 'dresses' similar to that. I had never seen a male with one on.

The golbat was much like a zubat—blue and with a giant mouth which took up most of its body's space. It had small, triangle ears on its head and wide-spanning wings which were purple on the inside skin. Its two thin legs which ended in funny looking worm-like feet dangled from the body, and the small, angry eyes held no colour.

The gligar was hooked to the floor, the blue flaps that sat between two scary looking lavender pincers folded nearly. Two ears erected from the flying and ground type's head, which were thin and almost like straight horns. What was most intimidating about the pokémon was the circular orb with a single point between his legs of a similar build. The pokémon's teeth were bared as he crept closer to the grotle, and a horizontally large tongue hovered out as if hesitating to protrude entirely.

The hitmonchan, golbat and meowth approached me while the others closed in on my associate, and I was left to make a decision. I pondered what to do for mere seconds before fixing my mind on a single, set-in-concrete situation. _'...Izante's going to have to wait, Dust.'_


	11. Chapter Eleven: Attempted Murder

**Chapter Eleven: Attempted Murder**

I made effort to delay myself as I sprang into action, starting off by firing a toxic purple splatter which first fizzed almost uncomfortably in my throat. The disgusting liquid bubbled once landing on the three pokémon; one – the golbat – painlessly shook it off as if she had a poison-resistant down coating her deep blue body. The other two, thankfully, became victims to my poison type move, and looked already a smidgeon weaker. But I was surprised when a sudden swift human-looking boxing glove met my jaw, and I felt a crunch as I was plunged backwards—mostly by shock. I tensed up and rubbed the side of my jaw against my available shoulder, knowing no internal damage was done. It was only a mach punch, after all. Although the pain would haunt me for a while.

I sprang back up, biting down and feeling aching in my mouth, and lowered my head. I felt my body stiffen and prepare itself for any oncoming attacks. My mane seemed to become denser, as did my tail. I let myself feel where to strike next, subconsciously taking precise aim. In the meantime, a pay day struck my forehead, a consistent stream of loose coins being cast out of the meowth's peculiar oval-shaped headpiece. Nevertheless, I stood my ground and kept my body steady.

Feeling like I'd charged up enough energy, I bent all four of my legs and flicked my head so I could see my attackers. Aimed at the meowth, I charged forward without warning, and slammed head-first into the feline pokémon, flinging us both in the same direction – although he travelled backwards – and colliding with the gligar clinging to the floor who was undoubtedly oblivious of the act. Tumbling over two pokémon, I somehow landed near to my friend, who was considerably stunned. But I didn't blame him—sudden randoms coming into his personal space like that? I knew I'd be confused!

I looked up, nearly smiling. "Hi, there!"

"Dusty! ...I'm, uh, glad you came," he replied slowly, watching me spring off the two figures beneath my paws. I came down on the floor space next to his almost shell-like build. I eyed the two fallen frames that would remain so only momentarily, making sure that's what they weren't doing.

"So, you know _my_ name," I began, "but what's yours?"

The grotle blinked before replying with, "Chance. I'm a friend of Hakumei's."

"Oh, you are? I didn't know that," I remarked, swaying slowly. As the grass type continued speaking, I happened to notice a pink curled ear expose itself from behind his leg. A single round eye which was mostly white also revealed itself, distressed fright as its core element. I furrowed the fur above my eyes, closing them lightly. I side-stepped to my right, noticing the body huddle closer to Chance's behind.

"Dusty!" Chance barked suddenly. I slapped my head in his direction, frowning harder. I knew the tone present in his voice to be one not of annoyance, but urgency with a hint of anxiousness.

Soon leaning why, I drove myself into the dress-wearing fighting type closing in on us. The hitmonchan looked as if he was barely enraged as he neared, holding two red gloves to his chest. Unfortunately, those balls of padding were what prevented me from knocking him backwards, but that changed as I used a quick attack at his unsuspecting frail legs.

He toppled forward, coming down on my back and unfortunately squashing me until Chance launched a number of rounded green buds my way, which all planted themselves onto the hitmonchan covering my body. I only managed to slip out after he jumped up, shocked by the sudden attack. However, getting back up only led me to two deep-lilac coloured plump stems. I followed their trail, and found myself staring at the high bodies of two arbok, who in return hissed, flaunting their forked, reddened tongues.

I squealed, bowling myself out of harm's course as their heads plunged into the floor. "Heh, heh, heh," I chuckled under my breath. "They went to hurt _me_, but got themselves injured instead!" I sat on my rump in the dark, forelegs outstretched before me as I realised that I was sitting and not battling.

As it occurred to me, I received a painful blow in my side, knocking the wind clean out of my chest. A look of worry filled my face as I noted just how close the two arbok were, and how long their tails could extend to. The two snake pokémon hissed quietly, tasting the salty air with their split tongues.

As I was sprawled on the ground, another tail sped towards my muzzle, purple colouring fuzzy in front of my eyes. But before it struck, I cranked open my jowl, hoping for a tail-in-the-face prevention, and without warning, a thick mound of flat scales filled my mouth. I blinked in succession, somewhat stunned. I found it sensible to clench my teeth, and as I proceeded to do so, an ear-splitting squeal told me that I had done what I had planned.

The purple pokémon made a desperate attempt to withdraw his tail, yanking it from my claim. I held on until I regained my breath from being winded, and it was then when the poison type followed through with his tail, flying me along with it to the other side of his body. My body shuddered as it crashed against the hard floor, but I was barely injured by the rough landing. I had finally released my grip and I shook off, but was then bothered by a swooping figure that flaunted her harmful tail's purple tip. I ducked momentarily, next poking my head back up and turning around to blow fire onto the passing attacker. However, my flames were losing their effectiveness, as I could only disperse a certain amount before I had to recover. _'Time for a power boost before my flame sac loses its flames!' _I thought without having to get my own permission.

I twisted my neck up at the two arbok not three metres away, and the hitmonchan battling Chance. There was no sign of the meowth, however, so I assumed Chance had either defeated it, it left and went to another battle...or it was right behind me. Checking to make sure, I peered over my shoulder. Thankfully, the assumption was merely my suspicion and sense of humour, and I could return to focusing.

My 'focus session' was cut short as something suddenly began to burn my skin. I instinctively knew that fire type moves couldn't harm me much at all due to an apparent 'ability' that most flareon had, so it couldn't be flames. I felt instantaneously uncomfortable, and I flung my head to my back, about to lick my burning patch. However, I was stopped straight away, seeing that it was clear bubbling acid. Whilst I hadn't been paying attention, one of those arbok had regurgitated acid and spewed it onto my pelt! "How dare you?" I wretched, scrunching my face at both the sight and in anger. "You vomited on my coat! MY _COAT_!" If they had known how much I hated my fur being messed up, perhaps they wouldn't have dared an attack like that one. "RAAGH!" I viciously screeched, using my legs to push off and ascended into the closest arbok's chest with a quick attack, and in my favour, the attack felt stronger than usual.

Proving my hypothesis, the great cobra pokémon slammed to the ground with me standing on his outspread skin. As soon as we landed, I growled louder, bounding off his head in time to fly at the other poison type's shocked face. Having prepared, I shot a shadow ball – while still suspended – in his direction and watched its black almost electricity-looking effects send him back. Ill-equipped, he tried to fight it, but when he broke off, the pokémon belonging to Team Rocket plunged into the floor with a black sphere the size of his chest following, only to explode on his exposed skin as it dealt more damage. It made me narrow my eyes with satisfaction, but I was too late once I crashed into an incoming 'ally'.

A squeal reminded me that I had still been airborne from having jumped, and I knew as soon as I opened my eyes again that I had made a mistake. "YOU!" snarled the blue idiot I had rammed into.

"Not again..." I bellowed, slightly afraid of how the situation was going to pan out, and what would happen next.

I got a face full of ice, that's what. Followed by my neck muscles automatically drawing my head back as a reaction. I opened my large eyes, narrowed them, and got to my feet. Flamethrower would have _happily _been my next move – and on Azure – but I needed to conserve my fire, which bugged me. "Grow up," I simply spat before turning tail. Of course...there was the tush in her face again. _That_ made me giggle mockingly to myself as I loped towards the hitmonchan about ten metres in front of me busily attacking Chance—who appeared to be protecting someone...the pink someone I had seen behind him before. "Hey, you—hitmonchan!" And the last thing he would have remembered was turning around and being winded by a quick attack, next having a rather big shadow ball fired at his gut. It had whirled around, charging with the night, and plummeted into the attacking pokémon. He collapsed in a crumpled heap, and I grinned greasily. The toxic attack had done its job, and the fighting type had slowly become prey to the process of his decreasing health. I grunted with satisfaction, flinging my head to the pokémon behind me.

Azure seemed to simply huff at my three-in-a-row pokémon defeat, but I could tell she was hiding her impressed thoughts. Her tail swung from side to side as I turned to displayed my proud smirk, the pointed tip cutting through the air. "I think you're the one who needs growing up," she sneered. I breathed a loud, irritated and agitated sigh in response, eying her afterward. "Defeating a mere _three_ pokémon in some poor attempt to impress your superiors? I would have thought more highly of you than that... Oh, wait... No, I wouldn't have."

"Would you just leave me _alone_? What makes you think I'd need to impress _you_? You already hate me for no reason, and clearly you're not going to change your stupid, precious mind! So just get away from me!" I exclaimed. I _knew_ she was only trying to stir me up and get me back for leaving the fight, but why did she have to _keep pressing_ like she did? But to that, the glaceon said nothing. Possibly because I pointed out that she apparently hated me, she drew back a few centimetres. "Is it that you have a grudge against me? Do you hate fire types? Or maybe it's just flareon! You hate us because we can melt your sorry arse in battle. Or maybe you're too selfish to have appreciation for strangers you don't know! Who knows? Why _would_ I want to know?" Silence overcame us both for a matter of moments, my frowning, snarling face being the only sign that I was lecturing her. "Look—I don't know _what's_ up your arse, but it's got nothing to do with me! And if it has—I'm _sorry _for offending you!" I barked at her with a hint of sarcasm, my left paw forward. Again, silence fell upon us, and a sharp intake of breath came from the ice type. I was breathing normally, on the contrary, but through my gritted teeth.

"Do you know...what it's like...to trust someone and have them deceive you?" she hissed, her voice wavering as if she were holding back tears. "Someone _close_ to you?" At the sight of her weak form, I nearly felt sorry for her... What could she be talking about? Someone close hurt her...

'_It's fairly obvious, numbskull,'_ I told myself, and I would've rolled my eyes if I hadn't woken up and realised the broken glaceon seeming emotionally troubled. "Uh...no," I answered firmly, an eyebrow raised. "But what's that got to do with—"

"Then _why_ would you understand...?" She narrowed her eyes in the process of shaking her head while speaking the sentence, her words directed more so at herself than me as she averted her eyes. She looked...disappointed, as if almost having picked me for someone who _would _have understood.

I didn't know what to do at that moment until an incoming blur widened my eyes, and I obeyed my initial reaction. This time it was me gasping, and like a great fire burning fiercely bright, I hurled myself into who I was just talking to. We tumbled after and I cried aloud, my leg muscle enduring a puncture. The glaceon, her tears now free, roared in my ears. I responded with a cry equally as loud, my leg leaking scarlet liquid. I glanced at it without acknowledging the glaceon, and she herself moved her head toward it. She looked at me, brow furrowed, only just becoming aware of my sacrifice. "MOVE!" I shouted, and she scrambled with an open mouth from underneath me before another bang sounded, chipping my left ear this time. I knew it was intended for _her_, and I was relieved for a second that she had followed my orders. But still, even after the second shot, she stood watching. Her face was almost soaked in bewilderment, but also confusion. I could tell she wanted to speak, but couldn't bring herself to. "Why are you—" I started, stopping to groan, "—just standing there? ...Get away!"

This time, with a frightened look but hidden thankfulness, the blue eeveelution tore herself away from me, leaving my helpless self sprawled in the middle of a battle scene.

A body came close to landing on me before I moved again, using all but my left back leg to propel myself. Another gunshot whizzed through my tail, striking the fallen pokémon I had dodged square in the side of its head. I whimpered, attempting to lope away from the scene. My attempts proved feeble as another gunshot sounded, the bullet issuing a round hole at my tail's start.

Another body thudded before me, its consciousness – and life, presumably – absent. I was forced to stop, and my immediate reaction was to stare at a human wielding his gun around fifteen metres away. He cast a preying grin before gripping the gun with his other hand, and my heart could only beat at the speed of sound as I waited for the final blow. He was going to shoot; I was sure of it. His eyes glimmered with hate, burning with the desire to kill innocents such as myself.

It would take a miracle to save me now.

Before accepting my fate, a specific scene popped into my head quickly—back when Izante and I had gone hunting a few months back...

-xox-

"Dusty, we're going to go and get something to eat for dinner from the market in the nearby town," my master informed, her legs bent at the leg joint as much as possible so she was at my level. "I can get you some fish, but you can hunt around here in the meantime if you like. Or you can come with me." Despite my urge to follow and protect her, I took Master's first suggestion after being persuaded by Izante. The leafeon seemed keen on hunting, and though I first rejected her, I thought that maybe sharpening my skills wasn't such a bad idea after all.

I nodded understandingly, my tail swaying gently as I raised my head for my master to pat it. While doing so, Izante nodded at the same time, her master miming something to her.

"Bye!" Master sung sweetly, drawing my attention and giving a brisk wave before wandering off with Izante's master. Instead of questioning her, I padded through a number of trees beside my best friend, noticing her shy smile broaden.

"What's that for?" I asked, grinning a little bit myself.

"Nothing. I can smile, can't I?" she responded, trying to sound entertaining but actually sounding rude. My own smile lessened, and I cleared my throat. I listened to the jingle of my chingling bell, the joyous sounds ringing in my large orange ears.

"I don't think wearing my collar is a good idea for hunting. The noise'll give me away."

"M-kay," Izante mumbled. We kept padding, the trees stretching taller as we progressed, and the sound of birdsong shimmered through the air. "Pokémon that aren't yet a month old are best," she told me, not making eye contact. "Pokémon mate all year 'round, so we can still find them now."

I gave her a raised-eyebrow expression. "Izante...I was the one who told you that." She denied it, telling me she already knew.

However, I ignored her, focusing on a particular flying type's calls. I laid eyes on a pokémon with an enormous wingspan. She was mostly brown from what I could see, and her wing feathers were tipped with cream. Her head held a red crest which was spiky, and an elongated creamy-pink beak was pointed in the direction of her nest. She fluttered before landing, her clawed toes hooking into the home made from twigs and dried grass. Cheeping told me that offspring were waiting to be fed. If I was correct, around four or five, by the sounds of it, were there.

"Food! Food!" they cried, demanding nourishment just as all baby pokémon did. I turned my head to Izante, who had kept walking, not noticing my absence.

"They're all so far up," I commented. The grass type swung her head.

"What?" She clearly hadn't heard me.

"All the bird pokémon are too far up."

"Look closer to the ground," she advised. I continued forward, glancing about. There were no low nests. None. If we had any chance of catching prey, it'd be prey on the ground or fish in a river.

"Do you wanna go and fish instead? There aren't any nests close enough to the ground."

Izante grumbled before agreeing, and we both raised our noses into the air. Smelling the lingering freshness, I caught the scent of a few things. _'Plants, trees, bird pokémon, Izante, human...water!'_ I took off in the direction my nose led me, Izante following sluggishly. My paws picked up squashed dirt and leaves as I ran, but I tried my best to avoid any droppings that could possibly appear along my path. I heard different insects about: flies, crickets, cicadas...

I ended my travel at a rushing river, the lovely, peaceful hum of the water flowing to my ears. Salmon tails flicked the water's surface as they were washed downstream. I placed my paws at the water's edge, bringing my rump down to sit. I licked my lips hungrily as I heard my stomach rumble.

With a bound and a grunt, Izante flew across the stream. She landed on a large rock, printing its silver surface with the mud from her paws. I landed closely behind, repeating her colour-changing actions. "Do you wanna use your tail? Mine's a little too fluffy," I suggested, gesturing with my head at the river.

"Hmm," she started. Turning around, she laid her butt on the cold surface before dipping her tail into the rushing water. She almost pulled it out, probably not expecting a cold temperature. "It won't work without bait."

I didn't need more than a moment to think. "I'll find us a worm." I bounded into the bracken, frail branches moving on my command. The ground was soft and moist—just what was sufficient for digging. I knew my nose wouldn't give me an reading of a worm's whereabouts—and neither would any of my other senses. Nevertheless, I ploughed into the ground, dirt flying about. _'I used to know dig,'_ I thought sourly, thinking it would come in handy after all. _'I should've kept using it...I'd need a TM to learn it again.' _

Neglecting the thought and moving on, I sighed as my hole failed to expand once I hit hard earth. _'What is this?'_ I growled, eyes narrowing. As I moved on to another spot, it then occurred to me that perhaps ground prey was a good idea. _'I could probably find a newt around here somewhere...'_ But before I could begin considering it, my ears unexpectedly twitched. I pulled my paws from the ground. Another noise sounded. With curiosity my prime thought, I very carefully slinked back to the bushes I had come from. I spotted Izante's figure off to my far right, standing before a cluster of trees. I discovered another pokémon, but they were obscured by the bushes. I wanted to creep closer, but I was in no way inclined to expose myself to this odd situation. But could barely make out Izante's voice...let alone her company's... I strained my ears, shutting my eyes as if to focus my sight's energy on their chatting. The other voice was whispering, but I could tell it was female. Izante's voice was also hushed, overrun by the river's rushing and the insects' buzzing. Although...I could make out a few sounds.

"He...qu..." I think it was Izante. "W..."

The other one kept quiet long enough for me to assume they changed the topic. "Do...ow." There was a pause before the other pokémon continued. "A... you ...lo..."

Izante shuffled her paws, and I drew myself close to the tree beside me, staying silent until I felt her gaze flick back to that of her company's. "No."

"W... s... have...th...sk. Th...ins...w... b... rel... to...s..."

"...D...st...d. I ...ve t... ...o." Replacing herself by the rocks where she stood before, I swore, scuttling back to where I had been digging. Thin twig-like branches hung low to the ground, inviting me through them as I sought out my spot. I arrived, diving into the clay. I rolled all four paws into it, staining them all the more. I wiped my muzzle in a pile of mud and managed to flick up pawfuls of earth in the direction behind me, listening to the faint patter as it met the ground. Shortly after, rustling of bushes and another voice turned me around.

"Are you having any luck?" the leafeon asked, only making eye contact between her sections of looking away.

"It's not luck," I corrected, twisting back to my 'hole'. "It's whether my skills are high enough for me to recover a _worm_ or not." I emphasised the word 'worm' just for fun, and I heard her approach me. "...Care to help?"

She moaned, clearly not inclined. "...Do I have to?"

I flicked a mud-stained snout at her, a sarcastic expression etched into my face. "I'm not going to do _all _your dirty work. So...yep!"

She heaved a sigh, acting similar to a mother espeon when her eevee won't do as she says. Regardless, she dug in, darkening her naturally brown paws. Within no time, we came up with a few tiny grubs and those weird little jumpy bugs, but no worms.

"That's strange...and annoying," I commented, hauling myself out of the ground. "Must just be looking in the wrong—" Izante on the ground kneeling before a tree caught my attention. "Uhh...what are you doing?" But the response I got was a twitch of a tail and a muffled bunch of words which weren't even directed at me. The grass type continued mumbling, her face level with the tree's base on the ground. I stared at her behind, eyes squashed with confusion and a frown. "Izante, what ar—"

"Shh!" she hissed curtly. I blinked repeatedly, not sure what to do next. So I watched her. Her tail caught my eye as it swept the ground, rolling pieces of dirt and crumpled leaves. The swaying became faster, and soon my friend was up on all fours, her head craning to a papery branch far up above; it must have been around two rhyperior high!

What startled me was what happened next! After speaking the words 'like a rocket', Izante shot up into the sky, firing herself onto a peeling branch at least a metre off the ground. The tree's limb bounced, and she crouched herself again only to then spring higher. "Izante!" I called, having no idea what she was doing. All was soon revealed when the leafeon landed on the branch she was previously dedicated about reaching and dug her head into a nest. I heard cheeping, and felt sorry for the prey, and then plodding as Izante landed branch by branch to the ground. She strode over to me, plopping the two baby pidgey on the ground. _'They're all too young to defend themselves...'_ I thought sadly, my jaws fitting around one's head. I bit through the tendons, its chirping turning to silence immediately. Izante did the same.

I had gone fishing with my tail afterwards, Izante having found some worms. I managed to lure one using the bait, and my leafeon friend leapt into the river and snatched it up. We would have caught another one had she not let it slip, but the one we snagged was large enough for us both. "Hey...Izante," I started, my brain still turning. We had been sitting by the rushing river, but I insisted that we moved into the brush a little more so that I wasn't taunted by the rushing flow of sickening water. We were back at the digging spot. "How did...how did you, uh..." I wasn't comfortable finishing my sentence, and instead shifted my gaze to the tree.

At first she didn't get where I was at, but after another gestural nod to the birch, she muttered, "Oh," carrying the word on a little with acknowledgment. "I, uh..." As if to change the subject, she pulled her half of the salmon corpse toward her with a paw, sniffing it. "Is it edible?"

I frowned. "Of course it's edible." She sniffed it again, licked it and eventually stole a bite before coming back for more. "But..." She pretended not to be interested, munching on her fish. "That's dumb... Why 'like a rocket'?" To that she nearly choked, coughing, and following the mistake was half of the salmon's spine. "Don't eat the carcass!" I yelled as a reaction, but then figured it to be an accident. She didn't meet my glare, but instead eyed what remained of the fish. "Why not 'like a spoink'?" Clearly not wanting to be disturbed, she stayed seated, the two of us silent and frozen in our different poses. Crickets and cicadas were, again, the only sound besides the nearby stream. Izante was sitting, her front legs appearing long as they supported her front. She was looking away, fur shaggy over her eyes.

My two shoulder flareon who I spoke rarely to both appeared again. The red one sighed. "...Great. You insulted her. Now she's not gonna answer."

The light flareon repeated the sighing motion and murmured, "Neither have done anything wrong." To that the red flareon exposed her tongue and squeezed her eyes, but the other and I ignored her.

Izante eventually got up and began to leave, what she didn't eat of her salmon lying before me. I quickly slid a mouthful off, _leaving_ the bones. "We should head back," she suggested, moving her head only slightly while my eyes fell to her rump. "Our masters will be getting back soon." She disappeared through the bushes, and I heard her leap over the river as I gathered myself. I was about to scamper after her when I remembered the two mouthfuls of deceased marine animal that would go to waste if I left it. I speedily snatched the salmon piece in my mouth and sped after her.

"Hey! Wai' u'!"

-xox-

He put his second hand to the trigger, daring to press on it. I cringed, trying to recall more memories with Izante. However, one was all fate allowed me.

His cheeks compressed, rising to make room for his mouth. I guessed that he knew I was the one running the operation, otherwise he would have already fired. I was breathing heavily, remembering the bullet my muscles caught. It stung, but somehow didn't seem to bother me as much as the deafening roar that pulsed through my body, my eyes forcing themselves shut. My toes stiffened, separating. My ears bent downwards, hoping to drown out some of the sound. This was it. The blood slipped in and out of my brain, flushing through the rest of my body. It screamed inside my head like a staraptor about to close in on its prey and slashed at my mind like a vigoroth whose claws were far from blunt. I began to ride the wave of death, feeling its cold embrace as it washed me downstream...

-xox-

"Dusty," a deep voice lulled. I stirred a little, feeling large arms cradling me. My eyelids made way for my pupils, which looked fuzzily at the darkened brown and yellow face staring down at me. ...But that didn't make sense. I was dead, wasn't I? "You were unconscious," he stated solemnly. "It was lucky I had been there."

The form morphed into none other than Luck, my large and reliable ursaring friend. "...R-really? So, I'm not dead?" I moaned through a presumably unwell face.

"Haha," he chuckled, setting me upright onto my paws, "no. I hope you're not disappointed." He pointed to a corpse about fifteen metres away and looked stern. "I slayed the human. You fainted – assuming it was from fright – just before I stepped in. I saw you collapse and thought he may have fired the lethal shot. I was glad to have been proven wrong." I listened to all of this, trying to absorb the information. My mind wandered; I considered the possibility of this human not shooting me and felt the need to search my body for gunshot wounds. I then snapped back into reality, crouching as pokémon attacks were cast to my left and right. I was surprised not to have been attacked then and there.

I observed the carcass after creeping up to it unsteadily, firing a toxic on my way at a bronze raticate who came too close while preparing her buck-teeth's strike. She screeched and scurried away, running into another predator that knocked her overboard with a single blow. I barely noticed as I crept closer, taking in the deep claw gashes that ran slashed across the human's neck. His metal gun sat alone and separated from his hand. Cerise blood stained his uniform, and a dense pool soaking his black hair and hat had formed from the wound's leakage. I let a frown lick the corners of my face. _'Looks like it's kill or be killed.'_

-xox-

"Do we have a report on the sides?" I questioned Luck, limping with him and two others, not making eye contact while on the watch.

"What do you mean?"

"Do we know if someone's winning or not? How many of us have been...killed?"

"That haunter's got the information, I believe. He has lain low to note the observations," Luck explained, probably not looking at me either.

"He's really proved himself, hasn't he?" I grinned, obviously happy with the ghost type. He had provided me with great information, along with the awesome powers he had shown in being able to release pokémon when nobody else could...apart from the blast seeds, of course.

"Yes, I agree," Luck nodded.

"Dusty." I turned my head. "I just wanted to thank you for before. I couldn't fight them all off." Chance bowed his head while we were travelling, concealing ourselves in the shadows on one side of the ship. The thin railing lining the sea vessel would apparently help prevent people falling into the ocean. But then again, _people_, not pokémon.

Crates passed by slowly as we made our ways while scrutinising the battles through gaps between the wooden prisons. Following me was Luck, Chance and Hakumei. I suspected that the little pink being I saw with Chance before had also tagged along, but I couldn't be sure—until I asked.

"Ohh, no worries," I sighed. "Hey, Chance? Was there someone—" I halted, witnessing a Rocket man being tossed over the side a few metres up ahead. He yelled all the way down, being silenced by a splash. The wind whipped around our small group, almost chilling me. I barely had time to process this before distraction fell upon me again.

"Oh," a familiar tone rang, "Dusty." He was panting, blood probably from humans grazed across his face and cream side—however, it wasn't fresh and there was barely any.

"Raiys!" I beamed, "It-it's good to see that you're...alive!"

"Heh, same with you." His gaze shifted to my paws. "Getting into it?"

"Yes, uh..." I subtly tried to wipe off the blood I had stepped in. I noticed his paws were blood-free. I assumed it was a good thing that I was facing the wrong way for him to see my bullet wounds. At least, the one in my upper left hind leg. "So, what's your number?"

Raiys cleared his throat. "Twenty-three." Before I could widen my eyes, he had bounced away, coming down onto the back of an arbok not too far away.

I was silent for a few seconds, thoughts busily carrying themselves around in my mind. I wasn't sure what to do next, but a call for my name once again changed my course. "D-Dusty!" A darkened frame zipped up to my nose after pushing through the small group of pokémon standing behind me.

"Yes?" I answered in a simple, wondering voice while blinking twice.

"You need to see something!" The urgency in Zhol's voice almost startled me. She was also very rushed, and didn't wait for me to ask before continuing. "There's another crate of pokémon down below in the cargo hold on another floor."

"WHAT?" I blurted, my legs instantly spreading and my mane and tail bristling. "Well, I need to get them out!" I turned to my surrounding comrades. "I want you guys to get an overview of the battle," I mentioned. "I want you to help anyone in danger and drive the humans off the ship. If we can, we should hijack it. We could steer it back to land and rescue everyone who hasn't escaped yet." I almost bounded away, but Luck stuck one of his massive paws out to stop me. I followed it up his body to his face.

"You can't run. There's a bullet in your leg." Although I tried to deny it, he was right. "Please, let me pull it out for you."

"What? Uhh—" I wanted to tell him 'no', but I knew it was best. He hesitated before I sighed, rolled my eyes and silently granted him permission. The great bear-like pokémon bent down, his thick and terrifying claws withdrawing each time they touched my skin as if being burned, but I knew it was because he was trying his best not to hurt me.

"Sorry," he apologised, sincere truth in both his eyes and voice. His claws finally found their place, and one of them poked into my wound hole. I grunted, forcing shut my eyes and automatically tensing my leg. Luck pulled his paw away. "My claw is too thick," he sighed. "It won't fit properly."

"...May I try?" an almost-dopey voice asked. For a moment, thoughts like a flock of pidgey streamed in one ear and out the other as I tried to work out whose voice the sound belonged to. My question soon answered itself as Chance revealed a pink pokémon who came out from cowering secretively. His ears were curled back onto his head; he was rather plump and stood on four stumpy legs all ending with white hoof-like nails; his long, white-tipped tail was suspended over his body.

'_Oh! That was the pokémon Chance was trying to protect before!' _My mind flashed images for only me to see as I recalled the few pieces of the pokémon I previously spotted.

Everybody watched him as he – very leisurely – made his way to me. "You helped us before," he stated slowly—the complete opposite to the rate of Zhol's speech and actions. "I will help you in return." It was hard to estimate his age—I could tell he wasn't a child, but neither an adult. He was in the middle, perhaps?

"O-okay." But when I looked down at his useless paws, I wanted to question him about _how_ he was going to do it. The pokémon stared at me, and I had to blink to avoid fuzziness clouding my vision. When I looked back at him, I noticed the dramatic colour change in his eyes and the fact that he had changed his focus to the bullet wound. Radiating from his eyeballs was mysterious red colouring. That same redness was glowing from the bullet that appeared before me in a matter of seconds. "Woah..."

The bullet clinked against the floor as it landed, snapping me from my confusion-induced trance. _'He used his mind, not his paws.' _I beamed, happy to see the bloody human ammunition out of me. "Thank you!" I wasted no time in nudging the slowpoke's tan muzzle before turning to Zhol and flying away with her.

-xox-

"Through here," the sneasel directed, pointing a claw at a minuscule opening in the ship's floor. "You can smell them."

I bent down, daring a sniff with my nose. My nostrils widened, inhaling with the sound of breathing. _'Materials—metal, meat—for food, and—ah huh!' _I recognised the last smell as a pokémon's scent. It was so familiar, yet...somehow it didn't feel one hundred percent 'okay'. _'Maybe they're just sick. Or the food is interfering with their scent.' _I doubted the latter, but it could have been that way. "Good work," I complimented, and Zhol nodded briefly, blinking at the same time. "We have to get them out—come on!" I sprang off, hearing the patter of pawsteps racing after me. She reached me in no time.

"Just you and me?"

"Either of us can break the lock. We don't need more pokémon." She agreed, her legs slowing for me. "We're tough," I added, noticing her subtle toothy smile. I smiled back, and we continued on in the direction I was headed.

We needed to travel to the other end of the ship, where the humans' 'hang out place' was, where the Rockets served each other food. Further on, in the last few metres of the ship, was the captain in a small cabin, surrounded by three body guards, gripping his huge wheel. To access his company, the Rockets would walk from their food-eating area through a way in the wood and up a small flight of steps. However, I knew that none of it was relevant. Access to the captain's cabin was only step one of the operation to gain control over the vessel, and it hardly needed planning.

We crept past battles raging to our right, and the crates gradually passed us by while sticking to the outside of the ship where the wind blew our faces and the waves licked the ship's sides. In a hurry, Zhol's arms flew behind her and my tail soared through the rippling breeze.

I nearly had a heart attack when a loud bang caught me off guard, throwing me into Zhol, who was on my left and beside the ship's railing. She squawked before our tumble commenced, and we halted in a crumpled mess with limbs in different directions. I growled inwardly. A fat frown ruffled its feathers, shook its behind, and plonked itself onto my brow, joining the sarcastic eyes. _'Great,' _I thought sourly. I heaved myself up, straining my ankles as Zhol slipped off my back. She shook her head, putting a paw to it while her other arm propped her up from behind. "Sorry," I muttered, then decided to investigate the murmuring going on a few metres away between two crates. I stepped over a random body, peering 'round the crate's corner. I immediately retreated to avoid detection as soon as I recognised the chatting beings as two Team Rocket men. One was slumped against the crate I wasn't touching, and the one on my side was facing the other way, looking down the end of the narrow 'alley' as he spied fights.

The one against the wooden wall was also standing, his eyes closed as if he was relieved and/or tired. He let out a sigh, and his acquaintance turned to him. They were both gruff and not yet middle-aged, I guessed. The one leaning had short, thick, black hair under his hat, and he had a dense moustache sitting between his nose and mouth. The rest of his facial hair consisted of tiny little spikes dotting his chin.

"I fink we lost 'em," the man facing away stated. His pronounced his words rather sloppily, I noticed. "You fink we're safe 'ere?"

"Yeah," the other one breathed after moments of pause.

They both stared through the break of crates to watch something while I scuttled across the floor to my dark and ice type friend. "Let's go—before they look again!" Before she had time to question me, she followed as I crept past the gap where they both stood looking the opposite way. We made it successfully, and I was glad to find that we were about half-way up the ship. Just as I was about to shoot off, I heard them start to talk again, but this time louder. My curiosity got the better of me, and I dragged myself back to the two. This time, I didn't bother looking around. Instead, I pressed my side against the box while sitting, listening to their words.

"What should we do?" questioned one of them, clearly unsure.

"Shoot it!" the other insisted frantically, and a brief shriek echoed through the gap between the crates as I heard a thump.

My eyes were wide and my heart began racing as I recalled my previous encounter with a human and his gun. I was sure these men had just sentenced a pokémon to their death, but I couldn't be sure until I checked.

A duo of claws touched my shoulder, and I snapped my head around to find Zhol standing before me with a modest expression. "Z-Zhol..." I stuttered, momentarily frozen.

"Yes?"

"...We should kill them first."

Zhol's brow furrowed and her feet remained planted. "...No," she responded firmly.

"W-what?" I was shocked—until I realised she wouldn't have known about the fallen pokémon. "They just killed someone!"

The sneasel's expression became solid and serious, but she still needed convincing. Although she hesitated, she seemed rather curious as she zipped back and 'round the corner. Haughty talk met me before screams and thumps. Then, trotting out with a tinge of resentment etched between her features, Zhol stopped in front of me to wipe the blood from her front with the side of her arm. Her claws were dripping with the same substance, and she quickly scraped half of it off on the crate's corner. I wasn't sure what to think. "...That was quick." However, I couldn't help but to think that we may have done the wrong thing...even though they were our enemy... Was killing those Rockets when they didn't threaten us first being as bad as them? My face grew reassurance as I told myself that they deserved it; we were merely paying them back. If they hadn't killed that pokémon, I wouldn't have insisted on their deaths...

As I restrained myself from looking back at them, Zhol and I nodded to each other before springing away.

-xox-

We came to the stairs that would lead us down below. There was a strange smell wafting from beneath the deck, but we ignored it as we left behind the floor of lifeless humans and pokémon.

"Coast is clear," I mentioned to Zhol, who was at the top of the stairs while I was at the bottom. She whizzed down, and we both slunk past several rooms. The first was to our right with a door closed. I sensed something sinister lurking behind the walls, and I crinkled my nose. Zhol probably sensed it too, since she did the same.

We crept past door after door, weaving through corridors and making our ways past labs that had shuffling and mumbling emitting from inside. Several of the labs had their doors open and...smelled like banana petrol?

"Zhol..." I finished my scan of a two-way passage. She turned from my right. "We should split up to find that crate. It's either at the end of that corridor—" I gestured to the left hallway, "—or that one," then to the right.

"I'll go this way," she said, deciding for us.

"Okay." The weavile pre-evolution whizzed down the right hall, disappearing as she turned a left corner. I stuck with what I had been given and dashed down my allocated path, feeling the scratchy carpet under my paws. I came to the same corner that Zhol had – mine being a right turn – and I thought that maybe we would join up once turning a second time. So, trusting that theory, I bolted down the corridor heedless of the pokémon who rounded the next corner and smacked into me. I whined in response, picking myself up at the sound of another pokémon's snarls. I leaped backwards, a fire blast burning its way just out of my reach and onto a wall to my right.

I widely eyed the smoking black crustiness that was left in a metal wall after the fire attack dissipated, and trailed it back to an orange bill. Two eyes sat above the mouth, and above them were red lumps that formed into yellow flame-like fur. Her whole body resembled fire in some way or another, whether it was in colour or pattern, and she even sheltered a naked flame on the tip of her lemon-coloured tail.

"State your business," she demanded, assuming a defensive pose while making her claws apparent.

I held my breath. _'Should I tell her? ...I guess I should... She'll attack me no matter what, probably.'_ "I'm here to free the pokémon," I declared, not feeling overly confident about what I had just said. I suddenly felt like a fool for telling her. But at the same time, I felt uneasy at the thought of a battle with her. When I faced fire types...I just...I didn't feel comfortable. As if I would have trouble beating them because our elements would cancel each other out.

"What?" the magmar spat. She, instead of continuing to act defensive, almost seemed sceptical. Like she couldn't imagine I was capable of it or something. "Uhh...you don't look like a Team Rocket pokémon..."

"W-what?" _'Is she stupid or something? Maybe she doesn't know about what's going on outside...' _I was considering attacking, when I decided to play along... "Uh—well, I am." But to that, the magmar stiffened again.

"I-I don't see your trainer."

"I...uhh... Master sent me down here on my own," I lied. I always was a horrible liar.

"And he asked you to release those..._pokémon_?" She raised an 'eyebrow'.

"Well, yeah. One of the Rockets needs, uh...another pokémon to help him train. And I was asked to get one from this cargo hold...thing."

"I find that a little _odd_... They'll _easily_ be able to kill him and his pokémon." She considered what I'd said before adding, "And you'd better make_ sure_ you have their remotes." She brushed past me as I stood on the spot.

'_Remotes?' _I thought with wonder._ 'She must mean for a remote controlled door or something. If these pokémon can kill others so easily, it's possible they lock them down here behind remote controlled doors or something.' _I considered her words and thought, _'They're probably all the highest evolutions of the caught pokémon—which is why they were kept here and not with the rest of us!' _I checked to see if the magmar was leaving – and she was – and turned back to where I needed to go. As I walked further, my pace evolved into a jog. I passed more doors, all of which weren't the right one. I kept my nose high and my senses sharp...

"Here!" I told myself after going around another corner and finding a wall before me. "...Wait..." I looked to my right, but no entrances were present. I poked my head back around the corner to see if I had missed the door and managed to pick up the scent I had previously missed, but what I smelled wasn't close enough for its whereabouts to be near. The smell of a forest lingered behind the wall that dead-ended me, and the one that a door should be planted in. I scowled. _'Zhol got the right way. This way was the wrong one.' _I reared back, taking off down the hall. After the long stretch – presumably the width of the ship itself – I zoomed around another bend, then my last one which I knew would've connected up to the part with the wall blocking me. However, the wall was probably thin and the room's door was at the end of the way, which meant I had to wear myself out that extra bit more. _'I should've just blasted my way through the wall!' _I scowled. But my good side used its brain. _'That wall could've meant the difference between sinking the ship and staying afloat. Soaking yourself or keeping your fur dry.'_

I came to a halt before I ran my way into the hard surface, and craned my neck. The door loomed over me; it was bigger than a usual one. The door had a sign with human language on it, and a black skull against a yellow background. There was a dried maroon human handprint on the door to top it all off, smears and a splatter of matching colour. I frowned, wondering what could have happened.

I blew a flamethrower on the door...but to no avail. I was rather shocked. I charged up a toxic, vomiting it up onto the entrance's metal surface. The poison didn't even stick to it, let alone make a hole. Instead, it slid slowly down the impenetrable surface and dissolved through the floor. I shrugged, peering down through the hole it made, and figured that it would disappear before it could corrode the bottom's hull and what other layers the ship had.

I looked back to the door. How _on earth _could I open it? _'Hang on...Zhol's not here, which means she has to have been able to get inside.'_ I sat and pondered. "Hmm..." My eyes wandered to a paw-sized, camouflaged button on the wall. I smiled 'evilly', as Izante would call it, and pawed at it till it did something. However, it was only a sliver of blackness that told me that I had opened the door.

I decided to wait. No noise at all was coming from inside, which concerned me. "Zhol!" I called. The sole response reaching my ear was my echo, so I paused before repeating myself. "Zh—"

The door swung widely open, and cold claws snapped me up. I almost screamed, but they were shoved over my mouth to silence me. Lights came on, blinding me in the instant, and the door was slammed shut before I had a chance to breathe.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Unpredicted Revelation

For some very odd reason, I haven't uploaded this yet. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, here it is!

**Chapter Twelve: Unpredicted Revelations**

"What's going on?!" I exclaimed through the two claws. They pressed together again, making me shuffle out of the paws' grip. The room had become instantly black as soon as the door had closed again, and I demanded to know what was happening! "Zhol," I decided through a whisper, "where's the crate?" I turned around, knowing she was going to be there because she had just embraced me.

"There's no crate," she replied from further up the room. I frowned, having underestimated her speed.

"Well then—"

"Shh!" she hissed, and I shut my gob immediately. I wanted to question her more, and I didn't know why I had to be shushed. "Whisper," she said again, doing so herself.

"But why? And what's with the 'no lights' thing? It kinda makes it a little hard to see." When I got no answer – just the sound of soft clapping against the floor – I rolled my eyes impatiently. I began to yawn, feeling a wholesome breath of oxygen fill my lungs. The swirling gas came out as a warm puff, and I swayed slightly after. I hadn't had much sleep over the transportation period, so I knew my energy was draining rapidly. The fact that it was night – when I slept – didn't help. The bullet wound in my leg still throbbed, as did the small section of my ear which was missing due to the same thing.

It was impossible to see in the never-ending blackness, but I knew I didn't need to see to be able to sense some sort of strange presence... A very odd but negative atmosphere hung in the enclosed space, and I almost felt unwelcome.

Disregarding my weariness and focusing on my curiosity, I dug deeper for extra fire that wouldn't be used in a flamethrower, and spurted it out so it was a constant flicker of a flame spilling from my mouth. I blinked, trying to rid my eyes of their sleepiness, then patrolled the open chamber with th—

My heart stopped. My heart stopped beating—probably in awe of the sight before me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to act, how to _breathe_ any longer. My attention was completely held by what my eyes exposed me to. I may have been looking at pokémon...but in a crate? Huh, _far_ from it. This...this was like nothing I had ever laid my sights on. Zhol must have seen it by now, but I could tell that she was not nearly as intrigued as I was. But I just...couldn't...

In the room I was in, there were thirteen tall-standing capsules containing wicked-looking pokémon. And by 'wicked', I wasn't referring to them looking really cool, but, in fact...matching the aura I had sensed only seconds previous to my discovery.

The thick tubes were placed six to my left and six to my right, with a significantly larger one seated right at the end in the centre of the path. They were all glass with dark plastic rims at the bottoms and tops where they connected to either the ceiling or the tiled floor. But...filling the pods was a liquid which appeared transparent and somewhat denser than normal water. Bubbles ascended clumsily from within the devices attached to the pokémon in the enclosed spaces and dissipated at the surface. I couldn't quite identify the species suspended in liquid before me from the lack of light, as my flame merely reflected off the glass covering. However, one I recognised as a medicham—because of its round, pink thighs and the thin grey body. "It's huge!" I exclaimed, my fire dying instantly. I couldn't make out much more...other than it looked stranger than a usual one. "What are they doing here?" I mumbled, the flare extinguishing right beforehand. I scoffed, flicking my head in any random direction. "Zhol."

"I don't know."

"...Zhol, why can't we turn on the lights? I can't really see properly. And there's nothing I can use for...like, as a...you know, 'cause if I use my fire for light, I'm gonna need something to set." I blinked a few times, unable to solve how I could word my sentence to make proper sense. I then shrugged, receiving an answer.

"Lights might wake them," she snapped.

"Wake _who_? The scary-looking pokémon in the creepy-looking tanks?"

"Yes," she simply said.

"They seem fast asleep to me... But...wait...there isn't a crate...but there are these tanks with pokémon in them. Why?" I crept closer to a nearby tank, blowing a flame from the gap between my lips. It was the medicham again. As I was reminded of its size, I took a breath and asked, "Do you think Team Rocket's done something to these pokémon?"

There was silence before Zhol answered, "They are being held here for a purpose. For what purpose I'm not yet sure."

Since the noise level was zero (apart from faint bubbling from the capsules, me talking and Zhol's clicking claws), the room could have projected the ring of a carvanha's tooth dropping—which is what it did when something paw-sized clanged against the tiled floor behind me and probably behind the right string of tubes holding pokémon. Straight after, a _shoofing_ and an almost-suctiony sound to my left threw me into a battle-ready pose as I was confused about the direction I should concentrate on. "What was that?" I quickly questioned, assuming – or more like hoping – it was Zhol. Sneasel could...run fast. Zhol could've gotten from one side of the room to the other and made both noises! _'Y-yeah...' _I thought nervously, fright licking my heart. I swallowed as my back seemed to heat up.

"I don't know." There was pattering as she presumably zipped across the surface to the source of the sound.

I waited in angst for something to relieve me, but the dark and ice type took a while to reply. "Feels like a remote!" she mentioned, and I soon learned that she had begun to prod at random buttons on it as the tanks suddenly lit up brightly after flickering. Blue light shone from the base of the tanks, illuminating their contents from the bottom. The whole room became dimly lit with a cobalt blue—but only really enough to faintly make out both me and Zhol and brighten the walls behind. Wild shadows were tossed across the floor, and any of them could easily have been used as a hiding spot...especially if I wanted to conceal myself and jump out at Zhol if she were to walk past! But I knew it was the wrong time, of course. Still...

"Light, wondrous light!" I chanted, beginning to sway back and forth in a dancing fashion. Zhol said nothing and eyed the continuously silent cylindrical containers, probably just waiting for the frightening pokémon to shatter the glass and slaughter us both. However, I think I could speak for Zhol as well as myself by saying that we were glad to find that the light didn't even make them stir. But now we could snoop around. I revisited the medicham for a third time, figuring I could gather its details better this time. As well as being abnormally large, I saw that it had a heavy-looking metal collar ringed around its neck. I frowned, digging through my mind to find any sort of answer to the question of why it would need one. I spotted something else strange: black rings around its eyes. They reminded me of the marks Master used to get under her eyes when she didn't get enough sleep, but these went around the pokémon's whole eyes and didn't look natural. "Zhol, this is creepy..." I waited for a comment from my sneasel friend before I said, "We have to save them."

"No," Zhol hissed, appearing by my side. I suffered a small jump and flicked my head in her direction. "We don't know what will happen if we release them."

"Release?" I questioned with a slightly shocked tone. "You make it sound like they're dangerous captives..." The moment I spoke those words, I knew the possibility. Zhol's solid gaze reiterated my thoughts, and I suddenly felt a wave of extreme curiosity. Why the giant pokémon? Why were they in tanks filled with bubbling liquid, and why were they separated from the others? Only investigation would solve the question, but not even that seemed overly safe. Investigation that was too thorough could only lead to disaster—as I'd once discovered as an eevee after being told one day not to aggravate a wild machop.

I strode forwards, lifting my nose. _'...Hang on.' _I flicked my head around. _'How come I can still smell the forest? Some sort of familiar scent...'_ I almost used all my senses to reveal who – or what – was in the room. _'Eh, my nose is probably still clogged up with all the disgusting stenches from earlier,' _I figured, shrugging. I decided that snooping around more was a better use of my time, and I was probably right, after all. _'Or these pokémon could have once belonged to a forest...' _I began to search my thoughts. _'I hope they were willing to be brought here...'_

I continued down the room, inspecting the strange, floating pokémon concealed behind glass. Bubbles span to the top of the dense liquid, becoming part of the above pockets of air. Long, black tubes connected to cups on the pokémon's mouths suddenly came to my attention, and my suspicion met its peak as I discovered they were to supply the pokémon with oxygen. After all, how could they breathe in wet matter like this? _'Wet matter... That stuff doesn't appear natural. It's not fresh or salt water—or water pokémon water. Everything here is artificial...' _My fur stiffened. _'No wonder this place or these pokémon don't smell right. Zhol was right about letting them out. Who knows what would happen...?' _

I blinked in succession."This one's gone!" I exclaimed, spinning to face Zhol.

"A pokémon?" she asked, catching up with me. As she did so, I turned to the tank.

"I swear there was one in here a second ago! When I had my fire lit...the tanks were all full with a pokémon!"

Zhol grabbed her chin with a paw. She frowned, thinking hard, probably.

Spoiling our 'being surprised' session, the door to the room slammed shut without warning, the lights blinking out. "WAHH!" I blurted, my muscles seizing. We both jumped out of our fur; we probably would have soiled ourselves if we hadn't both been familiar with being alarmed.

Silence overcame us as we waited for something else to happen. When nothing did, we both stared at each other—or, at least, I looked at her. Without light, it was kind of difficult to determine whether she was doing the same or not.

I flicked back my head, generating a small flame, and hurled it from my mouth toward the room's entrance. It lit the place for a matter of moments, dissipating as it crashed into the floor before the door. Nothing there. "But...the door wasn't even open for it to close!"

"It may have been the pokémon that escaped from its tank," Zhol alleged. She was thankfully still gripping the remote, and prodded at it until those glass container lights relit. I could see her face again. "But...how did it escape...?" Zhol continued her stare, her thoughts whizzing.

"And how did it sneak past us?" I added. I hoped all would make sense in the end. It usually did, anyway. I padded slowly away, nearing the biggest tank in the room. It was the one near the back of the room in the centre of the pathway between the two rows of tubes. This one – rather than bubbling, holding a pokémon, and being blue – was an extremely dark maroon—almost black. It was not bubbling, however, and the pokémon was absent. It hadn't been occupied when I had come in, so I figured that there was nothing in it to begin with. I found it awfully strange how it was differently coloured, but I thought that maybe different...'pokémon'...needed types of tanks to survive in.

As I let a frown push down my eyebrows, I neared the tank. For the first time in a while, I hoisted myself up onto my hind legs, my front paws pressing against the thick glass as my toes spread out. My head was tilted upward, and I could see human communication characters painted on a small sign. However, since I didn't know how to interpret human language when written, I merely shrunk back down to all fours and returned to the sneasel. I was about to tell her of the human written characters when I was suddenly interrupted.

"_Dusty?" _a voice started. I flinched violently, the sneasel beside me growing a quick frown.

"...Did you h—" I began, immediately cut off. The feeling of when your ears pop struck me, and it suddenly felt like they were blocked.

"_Dusty, it's Raiys! We need you up here!"_

"Did I what?" Zhol queried, a look of concern and perplexity coating her face. She sounded muffled—like I had my head submerged in water or something.

"Shh!" I hushed, turning away from her. "W—how-?!"

"_I'll explain once you're here. There's something you need to see! And hurry!"_ My head felt clear again as I shook it, my eyes searching the floor as if looking for answers.

"Zhol, we need to go," I stated, facing her seriously. There was a pause while she contemplated this.

"But, Dusty, what about these—"

"Doesn't matter about them—_we_ need to go!" I sprang off the floor, not giving her time to reply, reaching the entrance and slamming into it. I expected it to swing open, but to my displeasure, it didn't. Instead, I ended up with a sore right shoulder as I stood moaning. Zhol slashed through the air as she appeared at my side within a heartbeat, and blinked repeatedly at me. She craned her neck, then leapt upward, yanking down the horizontal handle. It became almost vertical as there was a click, and the dark and ice type swung open the chamber's metal guard.

I just stared with my eyelids at half-mast after moving away from the door. "_Why_ did I do that?" I muttered.

I focused back on task and bounded after Zhol and up the hallway, turning left shortly after it started and nearing a series of short pot plants coming up on our rights.

**-ooo-**

A lithe figure concealed itself behind a row of potted plants situated against the wall of a corridor, knowing exactly what it was waiting for. It didn't take long before it heard a shuffle of paws and negative muttering. It waited almost indifferently; however, a tinge of remorse pawed at its stomach. It knew what it was doing, but felt nearly a little regretful for doing so. Even though it chose this path, second thoughts whizzed through its head. But it reconsidered as it recalled the reasons, telling itself to forget it among other things. Washed away was the last part of the feeling as it saw, speeding 'round the corner, an orange and yellow quadruped, as well as a much zippier midnight green pokémon who stood – or raced, rather – on two legs ending with feet and sharp claws.

It took its eyes off the both of them, squashing itself against the floor as they whizzed past. Wind generated by the speedily travelling duo blew back appendages carefully. Once they disappeared around the corner, the sleek-framed creature darted from where the flareon and sneasel had come, inhaling familiar scents as it neared the chamber.

The heavy door was carefully shut once it entered and the creature made its way across the cold floor. It whispered particular phrases not understood by the average being, and as a result the tanks grew their lights. Approaching a specific machine it knew the flareon and sneasel missed which was located behind the main, biggest cylindrical tube near the room's end, the wanderer stood on its hind legs and awkwardly tapped at buttons on a keyboard. A black screen revealing brimming yellow eyes appeared on the back of the tube – where it was looking – and began to speak. "Master," it hummed after clearing its throat. "They will...witness our power very soon. Subject D3 has been released."

The being behind the source of the screen toothily grinned, despite its follower unable to see this, and snorted in triumph. "Excellent. Annihilate every last one of those opposing weaklings. Make sure you spare the Rockets. We need them."

The minion nodded, trying to keep a sustained pose. "Of course."

"And find out...who initiated the freedom of the prisoners."

"I-I already have that information, Master," the creature explained, feeling slightly regretful but confident afterwards.

"Ahh...excellent. I expect a full report when you return," mentioned the dominant being, its eyes narrowing.

"Yes, Master." The smaller creature then nodded, and waited a cluster of seconds before the screen flickered, shrunk and vanished.

**-ooo-**

I almost skidded and slipped when I scrambled up the steps, seizing a human as he pointed his gun at me. Zhol came zooming up from my behind, thudding across the floorboards and into the second Rocket, slashing her paw swiftly through his neck. Maroon liquid reddened our surroundings; I was prey to a few drops, but it didn't bother me. I finished off the man I was fighting, hurling toxic acid on his face and watching as he accidentally swallowed it. We passed through many battles, slowly making our ways to the opposite end of the ship close to where the crate I was held in was. A large circle of pokémon had gathered, and frankly I was surprised that a few Rocket pokémon or trainers hadn't interrupted it. Zhol hesitated to push past assorted pokémon while I thoughtlessly ploughed through them, occasionally excusing myself. I found myself in the centre where an ochre bear-like frame lay inert, appearing beaten up and with spatters of blood in select places.

Raiys was gloomily seated next to him, his head flame up for the first time I saw him. He laid eyes on me after having them pointed at his paws, and rose. He looked about to speak, but words were far from his reach.

My bottom jaw trembled, my eyes wide with shock. "L-Luck..." I was almost speechless as my sneasel friend finally appeared by my side. "He's..." My nose fizzed, my eyes becoming cloudy as my vision blurred. I exhaled loudly, rushing forwards. Shivers erupted along my back, and a twinge twisted in my stomach.

"It's okay—he's not dead," Raiys reassured. I held my breath, my tears stilling.

"He's...he's not?" Answering the question for myself, I lowered my head to his chest, my ear easily catching the pumping of his heart. I withdrew again, witnessing the rising and falling of his chest and belly. "Oh." I blinked out the tears, bringing my right shoulder forward and bending my head down in order to rid the brine from my eye. I copied my actions with the opposite side.

I heard Raiys draw a sharp intake of breath, and I assumed he spotted the miniature hole in my leg and ear, since he was standing to my left.

"Do you know who did this?" I questioned, my neck twisting to the left. The quilava stared back forlornly.

"Yes," he admitted, clearing his throat. Chance stepped forward from behind him.

"It was a beast," the grotle interrupted gravely. "Something unlike I've ever seen. Unlike _anyone's_ ever seen."

The blood-curdling thought pierced my brain, sending more tingles down my spine. I bound my eyes shut, squeezing them with extra effort before releasing the pressure. _'I wonder...'_

"Raiys!" I snapped my head to face forward, my eyes large and my mouth small and insignificant. The volcano pokémon did the same.

"Y-ye—"

Hakumei materialised before us, his face serious and his body stiff. He stopped panting to talk. "It's back. The monster came back."

**-ooo-**

"What did he mean by 'monster'?" I asked as I shoved the floor with each running step.

Raiys' expression held undetermined thoughts. "I know something you don't," he admitted.

"Yeah—what he meant!" I waited, almost expecting that statement to act also as a conversation provoking mechanism.

He shook his head a little, and I barely noticed as his whole body flexed while he ran beside me. "A pokémon turned," he began, and he hesitated to continue, his eyes on track while mine were set on his. "An artificially modified pokémon..."

We were running with many other pokémon. Hakumei led proudly, constantly dispelling his aura sphere to dispose of those who hindered his goals. The shiny umbreon was a nice guy, but when he was in a state of fury...well, you'd wanna be on his good side.

I knew Raiys desired privacy to discuss the matter, and he wasn't inclined to continue unless that want was fulfilled. Following the thought, the fire type jerked his head to the left, and it was easy for me to catch his drift. Leaping over some and racing between others, we escaped the pokémon stampede and ended in the space of two crates near the edge of the ship's left side.

He panted again, regaining his breath. He looked up at me. "The monster that attacked Luck is pure evil. Yes, it used to be a pokémon, but now it's a feral monster... Destruction and death is all it knows." He bound his eyes closed, as if recalling something painful, before he let them see again. "Don't let it get too close, or it might deal a fatal blow. All it needs is one chance to strike and you'll be gone. Your friend is lucky to have lived. He must have high endurance..."

I was having trouble absorbing the information, but once I did, I still couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, I just thought about it. I finally decided on a question to ask. "What...what did you mean by...well, when you said it was 'artificially modified'?"

He swallowed hard. "It...means that the pokémon...was toiled with." It took me a moment to think that over, whispering his words to myself for repetition. "Put differently... That pokémon was experimented on." At those words I felt a wave of ice wash through my veins.

"...Where did this...monster...come from?"

I could tell the quilava wanted to talk, but something was stopping him. I didn't know what, but bugging him about it wasn't going to help him find his voice. I changed the subject.

"...How many of the Rockets are defeated? And their pokémon?"

Raiys shook his head again, but not at me. He waited before he answered. And to my surprise, that sneaky grin returned. However, it was a small grin—just a devious smile with slightly lowered eyelids. "We've defeated a lot of them. Maybe more than half, even. Including the pokémon."

I nodded. "Oh, good." I swung my head around, noticing the rampaging pokémon had passed...finally. "I'm gonna go back to Luck. I trust all of you can fight off that...thing. I'll come to your rescue if you need me to." I smirked before running off, bolting through the darkness of the night.

The bottom half of the ship was virtually empty—apart from the abundant corpses, of course... I caught too many scents to distinguish between each one as I neared Luck motionless on the floor, obviously still unconscious. The pink slowpoke Raiys had attained help from in order to telepathically communicate with me was lying beside him on guard—although, since he needed protecting back when I met him and Chance properly, I thought that maybe he wasn't the right pokémon. However, as I approached, I noticed a lot more pokémon guarding him. _'But...wait a second...'_

I skipped closer, increasingly furrowing my brow with every step. Upon arrival, I sensed something not right. Something completely not right. All the guards were down. And I knew they weren't just snoozing. "Hey," I barked, but there was no response. "Uhh...are you awake?" I approached at the psychic and water type with a concerned look. _'Clearly not,'_ my thoughts growled at me.

"Urrgh..." he murmured, his lips not parting. There was nothing before his eyes slowly shifted in place.

"W-what happened here?" I questioned, lowering my head as I stood.

More breath-groans escaped the pokémon's...nose. His mouth didn't move. But then again, every other inch of his body was completely still, apart from the barely notable inflation of his belly. I could tell he was desperate to say something...but it appeared he couldn't. He began to whimper nasally, his eyes whipping about. They met mine, and I could suddenly see through them.

'_I think he's paralysed...' _I thought, wondering who or what could have attacked him and all the other pokémon. On top of that, why would they not properly injure them? With the number that was here...nine or so, they could easily have stood up to a group of pokémon. And if this slowpoke wasn't knocked out to the point where he wouldn't be waking up to anything anytime soon, then why were the other pokémon? Or, at least, that's how it appeared.

I threw the assumption aside, focusing on the matter. By the time I drew my head back to the slowpoke, his eyes were not as frantic.

"_Get away!" _he screamed inside my head, my ears having the popping feeling again. I blinked, crimson and blue swirls surrounding the slowpoke's head.

"What? Why?!" I answered, speaking aloud.

"_It'll be back!" _he explained, and I hesitated.

"...W...what is 'it'?"

A bone-trembling screech shattered my focus, and I was thrown into questions as a stream of blue and black fire scorched the floor at my paws, and I was forced to jump backwards to avoid it. _'WHAT THE?!'_

From behind a nearby crate to the slowpoke's left stomped two strong legs the height of my body. It was huge and its skin was dark. It had a thin waist and chest, and its front was dark grey. It had a semi-circled patch below its front's colouring which was a light grey, the same as the star pasted on its jutting-out head. Its jaws were intimidating as well as its strange arms which both ended with a hooked spike each, and I shuddered at the thought of a puncture wound. Its tail was long and spiked twice at its tip, and I immediately knew it would make a powerful weapon.

I could tell it was larger than a normal garchomp, and definitely scarier. The dramatic colour difference struck me as bizarre, and increased the frown marks deepening my concern. I knew that pokémon were different colours, but the bright, deep red eyes piercing my very soul suggested that this pokémon was far from natural.

_I blinked in succession. "This one's gone!" I exclaimed, spinning to face Zhol. _

"_A pokémon?" she asked, catching up with me. As she did so, I turned to the tank. _

"_I swear there was one in here a second ago! When I had my fire lit...the tanks were all full with a pokémon!" _

I bit my lip, cursing silently. This must have been the escaped pokémon—the evil creation Raiys was telling me about!

"_The monster that attacked Luck is pure evil," _he had said. "_All it needs is one chance to strike...and you'll be gone."_

'_Don't let it get too close...' _I told myself, imprinting the imperative thought into my mind. I held my courage high as I drew energy from my rage and fear, from the shadows around and the darkness blanketing the Earth. A wicked ghostly sphere formed strong in my jaws, a deep purpley-black matter resulting from its power source. Glimmers of white and pink among other assorted colours were present in grains, and the ball was, in a short time, as big as my head, and soon enlarged to finish once it became as large as my body.

The biggest shadow ball I had ever composed stopped its growth, the very innards flickering and seeming to spark and crackle with ghostly energy. My negative emotions were contributing to the attack, helping it to reach its peak in power, and when the garchomp was close enough to be unable to evade, I jerked backwards as I released it. It tore up the floorboards, leaving them a wreck, and hammered into my opponent with a small explosion. The expectation I was hoping for was to knock it out instantly; however, I knew that such a creature was capable of withstanding powerful blows, and my shadow ball was no exception.

The creepily sustained pokémon took the mighty attack with little effort. Although being pushed back a metre or so, it only seemed to affect it slightly if at all. I knew that shadow balls reduced a pokémon's endurance for non-physical attacks, but I had no idea how. All I knew how was that the next time I fired such an attack at the beast it would have slightly more of an effect.

In return, another jet of flames came in a flurry towards me, just barely skimming my tail as I turned and fled! _'That's no ordinary dragonbreath!' _I thumped the floor, my pace building until I suddenly slammed flat into something that crumbled my body and initiated somewhat of a headache. I shook my head, my tuft swaying about. I blinked a few times, cocking my head. I...hadn't run into anything. Well, I had, but there was nothing in front of me. Hearing the beast not far away, I got up and plunged into an invisible wall for a second time. "W-what?!" The desperate need to escape held me by the neck in the place of where my collar used to be wrapped, and squeezed my throat. "An invisible wall? At a time like this?!" I began to sweat – something I didn't often do – and my breathing became heavier as I sensed the dragon and ground type was stalking me. I whipped around, my head low and my contracting pupils staring up in fear at the beast. The luminosity of the deep redness bordering its pupils swirled into mine and began stirring my mind, hypnotising me. I fell into a trance, unaware of the nearing predator. My head felt light, my body becoming limp...like I was melting...

"DUSTY!" a muffled voice screamed, jumping me back into reality. I was shocked to find that Raiys had situated himself just outside the invisible force field, and was staring hard at me. His head flare was alit, the burning sensation becoming almost tangible as I stared through what appeared to be glass. My heart fired up, but I knew all those hidden flame sacs needed time to recharge. I required energy to keep going, and the food I had recently consumed was far beyond nutritious. Thinking it over, I would only assume that every pokémon on the ship was malnourished—probably including the tools used by Team Rocket they claimed to be their pokémon.

"Help!" I exclaimed, feeling the creature creeping up on me, its shadow stretching backwards in a menacing pattern. My claws dug into the wood as much as they were able, and I was prepared to keep them stuck until my toes bled. My maw was clenched, the stress on my teeth nearly as much as what my heart was dealing with. I attempted to reach out to the quilava with my longing eyes, but I knew he couldn't touch me.

"Behind you!" he yelled again, and I was quick to flick 'round. The giant monster groaned, and if I hadn't taken off the second I had, the foul flames would have consumed me. I raced, not looking back, towards where Luck was. To my great relief, the large brown pokémon was shaking his head as he sat somewhat clueless on his hide. The slowpoke was still conscious, and he was moving as well by this point.

"Luck!" I pounced onto his chest, setting him down on the floor again as he grunted with surprise. He blinked in succession, and my terrified face must have set in realisation for him. A ground-shaking roar from not too far away must have rocked the entire ship, and Luck gently pushed me off and made it to his feet. I couldn't bring myself to smile considering the circumstances, but at least he was alright.

"Wait," I protested as I predicted his movement. "Don't try to fend it off!" I looked at him, eyes brimming with fear, and he took a moment to breathe. His frown remained, but he intended to listen. "That thing is cursed. Raiys told me that it could kill even a mighty ursaring with just one strike!" His face didn't change, and by that stage I imagined he knew so already. "Luck, please don't put yourself in danger!" I inhaled and exhaled frantically, trying my very hardest to persuade him. "...It's _evil_."

Luck's shoulders relaxed and he contemplated his options. "Very well," he decided, but I still couldn't smile. Neither could he, by the looks of it.

"How are we going to defeat it?!" I spluttered, hanging my head. I couldn't hide the anger, fear, sorrow and lack of hope strangling my face. A giant paw rested itself onto the side of my mane.

"Not you," my friend decided, and I looked up with puzzled eyes. "You've done enough for us already."

"Wh-what?" I started, but he didn't seem keen on changing his mind.

A splintering smash gave way to a shattering wood only a couple of crates away, and I could only imagine the garchomp had impounded a portion of one of the many crates that previously held hundred of pokémon. It didn't take me more than a moment to realise its full potential, or even the small fraction of it that it used to destroy something that seemed so impenetrable not hours before.

Fear gripped me tighter, and I strained every tendon in my body as I began to panic further. "I know I can't do much, but I can't not help you! We have to work as a...as a team!" I shook my head, blinking over and over to rid fuzziness from my eyes. I couldn't feel anything in either of them, but...Luck was blurring. I bound them tightly shut, raising a paw and rubbing my left eye, following up with the opposite. When I reopened them, it had cleared up. I focused back onto the normal type.

"Dusty, you have to rest. You've done a lot of thinking and battling today. Leave it to us."

"W-wha—?!" He wouldn't let me protest, and instead looked about in the darkness. "Luck!" He looked at me. "I'm not tired!" I lied, and he could tell. "I'm still full of fire!" He puffed a sigh, and I let myself charge up. I aimed at the invisible barrier and shot a burning trail of fire. However, its volume was suddenly much less than I expected. I stopped my attack, recoiling. I flashed the ursaring an accidental look, and remembered my target. Crackling flames were spat pathetically from my maw, and the stream quickly dissipated. "Ahh!" I reacted, trying my hardest to release lines of fire again and again. When it failed every time, Luck made his move.

"Dusty, please stop," he advised.

"No! I'm not..." I cringed, shutting my eyes again as the blurriness flowed back. "I'm not done!" I inhaled lengthily, almost swaying too much as I shook my head. When I exhaled, beautiful flames follo—

There was nothing. Nothing but heat escaping my mouth. I shrieked, and with embarrassment written all over my face, I fluffed up my mane around my face. No flames? No fire?! NO FLAMETHROWER?! Without anything left to do, I did the one thing I did know what to do—and it wasn't an attack!

**-ooo-**

It was a poor sight to see Dusty without her signature element. Fire was, as it appeared, her way of life. Without it, she would surely go insane. "Excuse me," the slowpoke inquired, getting Luck's attention in a slow voice. "What is she doing?" Luck's eyes followed back to the very same flareon who had saved hundreds of pokémon and led a determined mob of the captured creatures into rebellion.

She was running in circles. With a confused expression, the overtired pokémon was running in simple circles. She might even have been chasing her puffy tail.

Luck softly placed a paw on his forehead, shaking his head. "Please keep her away from the monster." Luck gave more suggestions as to what the slowpoke could do, and the pokémon nodded. "Dusty needs...some time." The pink pokémon didn't quite understand why, but he followed the normal type's commands anyway. He approached the fickle flareon and ushered her to the sidelines, the pokémon uttering phrases like "no fire", and "all gone". Luck frowned delicately, thinking it was a shame that such a soul stumbled into the deranged world she had gone.

Surprisingly, the whole time the creature had kept out of eyesight, and hadn't shown up since Dusty had come back to the newly-conscious pokémon. Luck recalled the deafening bellow the monster dealt to the supposed indestructible crate, and could only imagine other pokémon were currently fending it off. Its claws so sharp and those blood red eyes so piercing. He could almost feel its harsh, callous attack for the second time. The same attack that rendered him unconscious on its first turn. _'I think what she said was true...' _the ursaring mused. '_One hit is all it takes.'_ He reassured himself and mentioned that the task had to be done, regardless of who was to be sacrificed for the heroic act.

With a last roar and a rare, heated temper, Luck the ursaring stormed in the creature's direction, hoping to at least be able to weaken it.

**-ooo-**

"Are you alright?" panicked a voice, and I lifted those heavy eyelids. I unclenched my teeth and set my sore tongue free, hoisting myself up into a sitting position.

"Ugh..." I moaned, reaching up with a paw to rub my left eye. There was a pokémon in front of me. He was staring with a worried look, yet it wasn't a strong one. "Uhh...hi," I said. He seemed almost surprised, and I frowned. "Are you okay?" I waited for a reply. My eyes were drawn to an empty, rectangular plastic item lying on the floor, and I cocked my head to one side. "What's that?" I got up off my butt and sniffed it, picking up a human scent. It smelled like a Team Rocket human! But...it looked like a small container Master used to carry around with her. It was a battle item. It held pills capable of aiding a pokémon inside or outside of battles. She had rarely used them on me, on account of how she preferred feeding me berries instead. I then realised that small particles seemed to be present on my tongue. They felt hard at first, but with the tiniest bit of pressure from my teeth they disappeared. _'Hmm...'_ I began to think, _'I wonder...' _I backed up, facing away from the slowpoke. I readied it, felt it about to be spewed from within...

And, surely enough, a raging line of flames hurled its way through the air, singeing any trace of dust floating about. "Yes!" I shouted triumphantly, turning immediately to the slowpoke. "Thank you!" I bowed my head in respect, and the young psychic type smiled back.

"You're welcome," he replied, the mellow quality abundant as usual. I took off after Luck's scent, aiming to help him.

'_No doubt I went crazy again once I figured I was out of fire,'_ I thought sheepishly. _'Argh, it's been a problem since my youth... But what fast working pills! Lucky, too...'_ I shook the thoughts from my head, telling myself to focus. We had to bring this evil _thing_ down, and I was prepared to go to extreme lengths to do so. I...was a flareon. A strong-willed fire type ready to fight some big ol' monster endangering those that posed no threat.

I kicked the floor harder, propelling myself across the wood. A sudden thought struck me and I nearly lost focus. _'What if Raiys saw me going insane?!'_ I tried not to think about it, but it mocked me. _'Luck and that slowpoke must already think I'm a complete and total fool. I don't need more of my newly-acquired friends – if I could be considered one – thinking lowly of me.'_ I shook my head harder, flinging the thought out one ear. _'I don't care anyway,'_ I muttered sourly and spotted the bad-aura creature. Luck was battling with it! I couldn't tell who had the advantage, although I could guess, and I again sensed that same invisible barrier that had mysteriously planted itself around a random area of the ship. At least it wasn't just me trapped inside it...

Suddenly, my eyes widened at the sight before me. The great ursaring was trapped in a corner between the wall of the ship and the invisible one running the width of the deck. The creature was closing in on him, and by assumption, he knew he wouldn't be escaping. Courage began to bottle up within me, and I snorted black smoke. My teeth grazed against each other and the flames waiting to be released gurgled with excitement. My paws raced me closer, and I could feel the pressure raking at my chest.

In a loud burst, powerful fire roared from my throat, engulfing the menacing creature. Its bone-shuddering cry hurt my ears, but it was a near-guilty relief to hear it in pain. I swooped in between it and Luck, and before he could react, I skidded, turned, and dragged ursaring out of the corner and into the open again with my jaws. We ran alongside the barrier and I tripped over my own paws, tackling him down by mistake. We crashed and didn't stop for a metre or two, and a momentary rest began the gathering of our mindsets. After realising what had happened, I found myself wagging my large tail while standing on top of him, and the bear-like pokémon looked dumbfounded! He stared at me, eyes wide with question, and opened his mouth to talk.

"Saved ya," I cheered half-heartedly, flipping off his chest and moving my head in a semi-circled fashion to charge up another hot attack. "Take..." I felt shivers following my train of thought as they tingled up my spine and to my face. "THIS!" My mouth exploded as a voluminous fire raged ruthlessly towards my enraged enemy. It swallowed the dragon and ground type and charred as much as it could, and more pain-triggered cries screeched throughout the area.

"Dusty!" Luck bellowed, snatching me from the battlefield and extinguishing the flame burning in my heart. "What are you doing?" he asked with steady self-control.

"Well, technically I'm talking to you right now," I chuckled, but received an unimpressed glare from the ursaring. "But just then I was...attacking the garchomp," I added, speaking slowly since I thought it was obvious.

"Please, Dusty—I don't want you getting yourself injured."

"And I don't want _you_—"

A powerful blow from behind rendering me breathless and nearly unconscious was delivered by something I didn't anticipate, and I was tossed forwards like dead prey for what could have been twenty metres, slamming into a crate daring to interrupt my crash-course. I struggled greatly to inhale, but my muscles had contracted and allowed me not a single breath. Nothing else moved apart from my eyes, and I was left unwillingly inert. The fuzziness set in again, and I attempted with strong intentions to oppose the oncoming injury. My lungs ached for oxygen and the most terrible feeling settled in, choosing me as its involuntary victim. _'Help,'_ I thought desperately, but my open mouth and motionless body must have indicated that I was less than a heartbeat away from passed out.

**-ooo-**

Luck cursed silently as he failed to warn the preoccupied flareon about the incoming predator coated with a sapphire glow. "Dusty!" he shouted as the fire type soared through the dense night air and slapped against the battered wooden wall of a previous prison. Her frail shape crumpled into a messy, furry heap at the crate's base, her chest lacking the breathing motion it was required to consistently do. He snapped back to the garchomp, his furious face becoming the result of his much younger ally's lifeless body. He boomed magnificent roar, charging forward with a vicious face and raised thick claws. His adversary grunted as he neared, and his slash attack dealt more damage than expected.

The garchomp roared, lashing out with its own claws a second too late as Luck ducked. The ursaring suddenly vanished before the garchomp's body, and the robust creature rumbled with a sense of confusion as it waited. Nothing happened after a matter of seconds, and the beast came to assume that it had defeated the worthless, inferior pokémon like it did the flareon. However, as the monster was least expecting it, an impact caught it off guard and it lurched backwards to follow by landing on its tail end. Luck had turned up out of nowhere, and with a black, sizzling energy surrounding him, he had tackled his foe with a phantom strike attack. His eyes buzzed a deathly white, the uncommon hatred he bore fuelling the dark type move as he had struck the monster. He went for the creature again as it was reassuring its footing, his paw raised, but the gigantic being dodged the slash attack with speed Luck didn't predict it possessed. It roared again, setting free the sapphire flames seen earlier by Dusty. Luck, barely believing he managed to avoid its path, rolled from the stream, and the garchomp stopped.

Luck deceived his attacker for mere moments, reappearing before it and punching it square in the arm with a faint attack and following up with slash. He jumped from its range, but was surprised as he saw the tall monstrosity had toppled over. He took advantage of the situation and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs, and breathed out pink spores barely visible in the scarce light. The creature, while regaining its bearings, appeared to become slightly relaxed. However, the attacks' effect didn't prevent the pokémon from finding its legs again and slamming Luck's belly with a mighty headbutt, sending the ursaring sprawling a number of paces away.

Meanwhile, a machop who had been on guard with the slowpoke and other pokémon found himself awake, and rubbed his head. His strong arms lifted him up, and his eyes scanned the area. He spotted pokémon scattered about – both dead ones and ones who had been attacked while watching over the ursaring – and frowned. He was ready to wake some of them up, but something else snagged his attention. Grunting and battle roars were ringing in his ears, and his sturdy legs made the choice to investigate, carrying him to his right between two large crates. He emerged into the open where, to his right, along the side of the ship, a monstrous, discoloured evil-looking creature loomed, screeching at the same ursaring the machop had been protecting! His open mouth and surprised face indicated that he was rather aghast, but a yellow and orange blur to his right was quickly his prime focus. He made a note of the injured flareon, and stood—a little unsure of what to do. Was it still breathing? Had it been killed by the creepy, bad-aura pokémon?

He leaned down, holding out a light bluey-grey hand in front of the fire type's muzzle. No hot air was being exhaled, and the machop lifted his short body to be standing again. He thought it was a shame that so many pokémon were being murdered... He was lucky to be alive!

He ran a finger down one of the three copper half-discs that sat atop his head. His large, red-iris eyes shifted about. "If only you were here, Father..." he murmured, his arms down by his side as his human-like body stood still and his circular head eyed the shining moon. Grey clouds passed leisurely over the magical sphere as if brushing it—

The flareon's belly suddenly filled with air, life flowing back into her body. The machop jumped, assuming a fighting stance immediately after. He watched the flareon carefully as its eyelids peeled open to reveal charcoal eyes with a hint of green and white. They searched the surroundings, and the machop could see that she rested them on the battle between the pokémon not too far off. "H-hello?" the fighting type wondered.

The eevee evolution's eyes tried their best to bring him into their view, but for some reason the pokémon didn't move her head.

**-ooo-**

'_What's wrong with me?!'_ my head yelled. _'I can't move! I can't even speak or close my mouth! How is...whatever's there supposed to know what I want?'_ My right ear itched, and I longed to scratch it, but trying to move any part of my body aside from my eyes proved to be feeble. It was like during bad dreams when I can't wake myself up, and instead I sit there pathetically, unable to do anything.

While I was busy giving myself a lecture about why I couldn't get up, grey feet moved in, and luckily the machop was short enough for me to see his whole self. _'Help me!'_ I growled at him, but clearly he couldn't read my thoughts. I couldn't even frown to show my anger!

"Are you...okay?" he questioned, speaking slowly, displaying his confusion. However, of course, I couldn't reply. None of my muscles bothered to work as I already knew, and this meant I couldn't blow fire, either... "Maybe you've been paralysed."

'_Of course!'_ I discovered, finally realising that paralysis would explain everything. The machop said something along the lines of getting me up and off the battlefield, and after tossing a worried look over his shoulder, he reached two arms down. However, the moment he touched me, I immediately came back to life, all of my muscles reacting and springing me to my paws. The machop reeled back, completely shocked—but I couldn't say I wasn't the same. In fact, I stood staring and glancing at myself for seconds on end before shaking my head. "I don't know what you did," I started, facing the superpower pokémon, "but thanks!" I raced away, suddenly feeling an eruption of aches throughout my entire body, and I nearly stumbled.

However, I managed to get by with the addition of clenching my jaw and binding one eye at a time, and met up quickly with Luck. Upon sighting me, he was utterly stunned. He must have thought I was dead—or at least going to be knocked out for longer. He turned to face me.

"Dusty—"

The side of a giant claw slammed into Luck's jaw, and he was sent sprawling to the deck. I gasped sharply, horror overcoming me. "LUCK!" I exclaimed, but the garchomp swung his thick head in a loop, knocking the wind from me yet again as I was thrown backwards along the ship's edge until I landed in a tumbling heap. As I lay temporarily incapable of movement, the ocean's waves washed around below, taunting me. A new fear slipped between the fissures in my mind, and I rolled to my paws and stole a quick glance at the not-so-distant ocean. If I fell in...

"AUGH!" Luck cried, blue flames engulfing his entirety in no less than an instant. My clenched teeth surely forced tears from my eyes, and I shakily lifted my head. The sound of stony fire swelling and searing weaselled its way into my erect ears, and I shivered. Building up combined pressure for two attacks at once, my head was aching. My limbs began to shudder, my eyes leaking salt liquid. I was burdened with seconds of uselessly before I finally released the flaming shadow ball into the deserving garchomp's back, and it thundered in agony. Its attack was instantly cut off, and it swung around to stab my eyes with soulless ones of its own, readying its two wide arm-wings as it appeared slightly hunched.

From behind me yelped the slowpoke, his eyes becoming pink as he issued a confusion attack on the creature. It hollered again, but straight away charged at me, each leg creating a miniature earthquake. I rolled out the way, and it continued on to pursue the slowpoke. I was sure that the little pink psychic and water type would have endless problems with running, but I was proved to be wrong as he easily led the thing away. It wasn't so much that he was fast, but it was the garchomp that wasn't gifted in agility.

I developed a worried frown, biting both my lips as I folded them in, and trusted the slowpoke to do what he could for as long as he was able. "Luck!" I jumped to the pokémon's side impetuously. He seemed to be out cold, and my tail sagged as I noticed this—my ears doing the same. "Luck..." I breathed, clamping shut my eyes.

He suddenly moaned, and my ears perked back up. "Ugh..." His eyelids hesitated before opening, revealing his tired eyes. "Little...Dusty..." he whispered, and shivers ran through me. I tried to hold back tears. "I'm...glad Larse was...able to revitilise you," he wheezed, and I cocked my head.

"L...Larse?" I questioned sadly.

"The slowpoke..." He cringed in pain, and I was about to cry out when he spoke before me. "I'm...done for..." I shook my head in denial while scanning his body. From head to claw he was covered in burns, as well as numerous rips in his coat where solidifying blood crusted the surrounding fur.

"No," I tried to correct. Tears clouded my vision. "Don't say that!"

I couldn't believe he managed a smile. It disappeared after a contraction somewhere in his body probably due to pain. "Fight...the garchomp. I'll be here...if you need..." He coughed again and returned with no less of a smile. "...Bait."

"BAIT?!" I whined, a crying quality creeping into my voice. "I will...I _will _kill it. I'll save you too." He forced another sweet smile, closing his eyes for a few seconds before reopening them.

A thudding made me turn, and I knew the slowpoke and the garchomp were coming back. They came into view within a few heartbeats, and I tore myself away from Luck. If I was going to fight the despicable creature, it wasn't going to be near him. I threw him one last hopeful and crooked smile before taking off, running straight at the slowpoke. I used telepathy via his confusion attack, as he was open to speech by thoughts while in the psychic process.

"_Just keep running toward me!"_ However, only metres away, the garchomp fired a weak stream of blue flames, connecting with Larse as he tumbled over and slammed into the floor, which surprisingly knocked him out cold. The demented pokémon continued to run, however, right towards me. I let a frown lick my face as I pounced at the right time, releasing a flamethrower into the garchomp as I flew through the air. It came in contact, dealing the same damage as always, and I only then realised we were about to collide! _'Didn't think of that!' _

I poked out my claws as I was sent forward and rammed into the giant beast with outstretched legs. It stumbled back from the force as I tumbled down and onto the floor again, landing with my belly facing down, all limbs beginning to pound from the impact.

I groaned with pain, my head thumping from lack of energy, sleep, food and water and from the attacks I had been enduring—or, at least, trying to.

Without warning I was tossed back, tangled in a heap as I landed and the harsh sloshing of the waves returned. Throwing my head over my shoulder, I realised how close I was to the edge of the ship, but I was too weak to haul myself up within the instant. I stared warily up at the enormous shadow after sensing it blocking my path, and shuddered. All my fear swarmed in at once, and my vulnerability dawned on me. _'Oh...sh—' _

"HAAAH!" I heard, and I was booted to my left as something strong tackled me out of harm's way. I rolled over myself several times, feeling bruises in assorted places, and looked up in time to see Luck's brown body stand momentarily before being thrust backward and directly overboard, as we were close to the ship's edge. The railing had shattered, having provided nothing to prevent Luck's fall.

A dastardly stomach-twinging shudder simmered my innards and flushed my face with a violent shiver. My eyes bulged and my limbs seized up, a hollow realisation manifesting within my body. The breeze seemed to still and the garchomp became non-existent as I lay in silent pre-panic. Reality tugged savagely on my heart.

"LUCK!" I screamed, disregarding my injuries and flying to the railing. I witnessed nothing but a high-rising splash metres and metres down, the disdainful sound searing through my ears. "LUCK!" The tears welled faster than a scyther could fly and poured out into the ocean, traces of my sorrow falling with them. "WHY?!" I droned, unable to contain the agonising feelings stacked up inside me. "What did he _do?_"

I wailed, facing my head to the sky with my eyes tied shut, then resting my head onto railing which was still present. A roar brought me to my senses, and I spun furiously around to view the disgusting, hideous abomination hunched indifferently before me. "YOU!" I boomed, heaving with every breath in an extensively livid manner. "YOU _MONSTER_!"

I began to brew flames in my throat which hissed of brutality, planning to combine them with a shadow ball powered by hatred, fear, sorrow and pure lust for its bloodshed. Although it probably burnt up my insides and scarred my throat, I expelled white-hot flames sure to roast anything it came in contact with. Along with the fire were streams of shadow ball composed of negative emotions. The deadly mixture soaked into the depths of the monster's skin and weakened it dramatically, and I followed up with a screeching scream, unleashing a molten flow as waves of red heat in the form of energy rocketed towards the creature. I hoped it would melt its very skin and char its black heart until it suffocated in dancing, taunting flames. It would forever burn in the deep corners of the Underworld, its soul unchangingly cringing in the darkness of its own hideous mistakes.

However, I collapsed in a heap before I could see the end result, bathing in my own tears. I couldn't hold them in. I couldn't clean them up. A close friend I had only met that very day had died...and to save me. _'First Sed was taken because of me, and now Luck. Who next?!' _

Deafening shattering didn't faze me as I lay on my side, my tuft lazily laid out and my tail frayed and messy. "Dusty?!" exclaimed a hasty voice, and I barely heard the pattering of her claws as Zhol materialised in front of me. She had entered from in front of me—where the rest of the ship was. She had somehow broken through the invisible wall, and stood before me in a distracted state of mind. She wanted to say something, but it appeared she was short on words. In the background I could hear shouting as the beast presumably chased Raiys off somewhere, now that the barrier was apparently out of order.

"...He's dead," I muttered.

"W-wha... Who?"

"Luck... He died saving me..."

"Died?" gasped the sneasel, seemingly affected by the horrific news. I kept my head down and didn't see her reaction before I finally lifted my head. She saw this and fought to catch my gaze. "We have to leave!"

"No. He died for _me_..." Zhol stopped, probably contemplating how upset I really was. "HE _DIED_! And it's MY FAULT!"

She wasn't silent for long. "However unfortunate, it was inevitable. Some had to perish for the cause," she reasoned. I was about to question it, but she spoke quickly. "Haunter's set the bomb to go off within a few minutes. We have—"

"You know," I interrupted, "his name's probably not 'Haunter'."

"Dusty!" she snapped, and I slumped my head against the floorboards again, unwilling to listen. "We have to escape!"

"I'm not going," I murmured defiantly, my eyes closing. "Let the ship take me with it."

Presumably figuring it would persuade me without question, Zhol stood up. "Luck died in vain then."

The sound of waves hit me again, and I screwed up my face, cutting the rush of tears down my face. _'No... She's right... Why does she have to be RIGHT?!'_ my head reluctantly screeched. I lay with my jaws clenched and my paws covering my eyes as I heard her dissipating footsteps. With several different paths hovering before me, I scowled, neglected my tears, and heaved myself up. "...Let's—"

Crashing behind me made me leap in surprise once I had faced Zhol's direction – back out onto the ship – and I snapped my head around to address it.

Presumably from an attack from the garchomp I had momentarily forgotten about, a round, solid body had torn up wood from the floor. The body belonging to a familiar face rolled slowly, and two brown legs began supporting a sphere of rock again. The steady pokémon didn't see me as my face turned pale. "Roarake..." I whispered, barely believing my eyes. Who knew I would see _him_ again?

The golem instantly snapped his head in my direction, his eyes diluting as he laid them on me. "F-flareon," he stuttered, the stillness of his body displaying his shock. A breeze swirled between the both of us as we stared.

**-ooo-**

"How do we break it?!" a sneasel questioned, frantically zipping up and down a section of the invisible force-field. She couldn't see Dusty; the quilava had insisted that they assess the wall down the other end in case it was weaker in another spot, and to briefly search for the culprit.

"I...I don't know," the quilava replied, trailing off as he tried his hardest to think.

"We have to break it down," Zhol reminded him, and he nodded impatiently. She spun around to the sound of breaking rocks, and ducked as one nearly struck her. She looked up and frowned, speeding over to the pokémon whose attack apparently sprayed while he issued a rock throw on an arbok who collapsed shortly after. The sneasel positioned herself behind the pokémon, leapt up onto a hard shell before a reaction could take place, and thrust her claws to the pokémon's throat. She paused as the creature remained still and she narrowed her eyes, confused at what two of her senses told her. The pokémon released a low rumble, but made no move to retaliate.

"You're a Rocket pokémon," Raiys commented, assessing the golem carefully by scent. "Why are you—?"

"I am _not_ one of _them_," the golem spat, clearly but unexpectedly insulted by the accusation.

An awkward silence whispered past the three, and the rock type span, ready to leave the small circle. "W-wait," Raiys pleaded, his dull-yellow paws taking steps forward after the golem. The large rock-like creature halted, his head side-on to the two pokémon behind him. "Could we have your help, please?" he asked, waiting on the spot some three metres behind the stranger.

The duel typed pokémon sighed impatiently, facing them both. "What is it you need help with?"

Zhol and Raiys led him to the see-through wall, and the sneasel slashed forcefully at it, but her attempt was rejected. "It won't break," she mentioned in a hurry. "We have to get through!"

The golem stood for moments, calculating the solution. He didn't hesitate to focus, build up power and slam his fist at the wall, shattering it instantly and creating an opening large enough for a charizard to fit through. The quilava was relieved to have been able to get through, but wondered how on Earth the pokémon managed such a big hole with a single punch. Solving his questions, the golem spoke. "It was a light screen reinforced with a barrier attack," he explained, and Raiys made a note of it, discovering that the pokémon was familiar with the attack brick break. "I'll break it further up," he offered, and stomped alongside the barrier before the creature suddenly met him at one of his openings.

**-ooo-**

"Flareon...you were captured." He appeared stunned, albeit I wasn't sure what else. "...You're still alive."

"Is that what you were warning me about?" I asked with desperation, taking a step forward. "Is that why you wanted to win? To protect me and Izante?"

At the mention of Izante, the golem rumbled, baring his teeth. "Yes... But not that _leafeon_," he growled. I frowned, offended that he spoke about my best friend like that.

'_I guess he's just angry at her because she finished him off before he had a chance to warn me properly about what he was saying to me,'_ I decided, shrugging mentally.

"Roarake, look out!" I shouted, following a squeal, a nearing tail coming to a stop as it whacked into my friend's shell with a thud. I happened to push off the floor at the right time, so it avoided me completely.

Roarake stood still – having endured the attack without trouble – and eyed me. "Flareon—get all the remaining pokémon _off the ship_!" he demanded, and I gasped as I backed up to get out of the monster's range.

"Wh-what? I can't just leave you here!" I retaliated, standing my ground. The creeping image of Luck returned, and I knew I had to stay this time.

"Don't be a fool!" Roarake caught himself saying; it was clear he partially regretted it, but stood by his word. "Go, now!"

"B-but—" I flicked my head to Zhol, the sneasel standing presumably at the entrance to the enclosed space walled off by the invisible barrier. Raiys was directing pokémon who were previously protecting Luck – including the slowpoke and machop – out of the sealed off area and onto the open part of the ship again, and I could tell that it was the last few pokémon who were being ushered out. I looked back at Zhol; she had a look of angst etched into her face, and she was waiting with gritted teeth.

"_Luck would have died in vain then..."_

I turned away, bounding toward the dark and ice type as she acknowledged my decision and led the way. I stopped as I was exiting the barrier's boundaries, looking back one last time. Roarake gave a curt nod as his strong left hand released a white light. He slammed it into the garchomp's tail, and I heard a roar shortly after. Mega punch.

Raiys appeared by my side, grinning as he met my eyes. I couldn't return his expression, but ran with him away from the devilish creature brawling with another of my loyal protectors.

**-ooo-**

It wasn't long before just about all the pokémon were off the ship, and I managed to round them all up (with the help of Raiys, Zhol, Chance, Hakumei, the haunter and Pokol, who I hadn't seen for a while) without much trouble. Azure had disappeared, but that naturally didn't disappoint me.

Pokol had found a Mr. Mime hidden behind a crate, looking as if he was focusing on something. He was then assumed to be the mastermind behind the light screen and barrier attacks, but he vanished after using another light screen to contain the raichu. The electric type luckily knew brick break and was able to set himself free. I had also seen Vesp, who had reported that Koi had been taken back to the mainland shortly after everyone was released from their crates. Wulua hadn't shown up, and that bothered the drifloon, but I reminded her of the fact that he had snapped and taken that ralts hostage.

The scene dissipated and slunk out of my mind as I used toxic to repel one of the few remaining Rockets, my throat being scratched at before I threw it up. I had come to believe that the remaining humans were all pathetically hiding down below, and most of them probably lacked their pokémon. There had to be someone in charge of the ship, and so far – unless he looked like all the other humans – he hadn't been sighted. _'And what about Izante...?'_

"Are you ready to go?" someone known asked, and I looked to see a black quadruped figure situated near the edge of the ship. I smiled at him, nodding.

"Do we have to go just yet?" the raichu wearing a black belt whined, the large, lumpy sack still in his possession. "I wanna blow up more stuff!"

"We should probably go before the ship itself blows up," mentioned Chance, and I blew through my nostrils.

"Yeah..." I agreed. "Wait," I began, "how exactly are we getting outta here?"

There was a pause in everyone's movement, and then Raiys stepped forward. "Earlier I organised for a few water types to assist us in our escape," he said, signalling to three blue forms hovering on the water's surface down below. It was a long jump, and my stomach turned as it came to me that I'd have to jump in... "It's not as scary as it looks," Raiys reassured. I just scoffed.

"Hold on," Hakumei interrupted, "there are seven of us...and only three water pokémon." Zhol, Chance, the haunter, Pokol, Hakumei and I each turned our heads to Raiys simultaneously, concerned expressions printed on our faces. "Care to explain?"

Raiys kept his cool, placing his buttocks onto the surface of the ship. "Haunter can float," he stated, "and there'll be two each to a water pokémon." We all nodded, but I was unsure.

'_How will I be able to grab on? And even if I do, I'd be dragged through the water... And I hate water!'_ I told myself to get over it, reminding myself that it was the only way out and I had to accept it.

"I...I'll go first," volunteered the haunter, almost waiting for permission before hovering through the air to join the water pokémon. I wondered why fire types couldn't float, 'cause that would make my dilemma non-existent.

In the meantime, Pokol jumped, yelling, "YIPPEE!" and a loud splash made me frown almost in disgust. Chance was next, and he took a deep breath before dropping from the very slowly moving ship and landing with the same spat of seawater.

"Dusty," Rayis murmured, getting my attention, "you next." He smiled sweetly at me, but I truthfully didn't want to go, and no measure of sweetness was likely to persuade me. As much as I longed to get to dry land and away from the stinking, rotten human transportation unit, I was extremely hesitant to even consider jumping.

'_I hate getting wet...' _I moaned silently, sheepishly flashing my teeth as if saying, _"I'm fine"_.

"Something wrong?" the quilava asked.

"Quick. We don't have all night!" the shiny umbreon pushed, and I chuckled with clenched teeth and lowered eyebrows...

A gust of wind blew forward my ears and tuft, my mane also flying towards the ocean.

I froze instantly. Every nerve in my body came to a stop, all turning with my body as my wide-eyed expression formed. I faced back onto the ship, the faint scent of familiarity burning alight my flame again. _'It can't be...'_

Without warning I zipped off, the shouts of my fellow pokémon fading into the distance as I ran in the opposite direction. "I can't believe it!" I chanted, my legs repeating their movement as I sped after the smell. I skidded around a corner, the sweet scent whistling through my small black nose as I heard soft voices.

"Are we gonna swim to shore?" a familiar voice rang, making my grin a grin too large for my face, and my eyes rapidly gained the tears so frequent in the past few days.

"Hah!" laughed the other pokémon cruelly. "And wet my fur? Not a chance," he sung. I had no idea who it was talking to her at first, but when they finally came into view, all was revealed.

"IZANTE!" I screamed, leaping onto her in one swift motion and rolling with her until we smacked against a crate. She was shocked and astounded, and didn't recognise me, it seemed, until she almost attacked me as I stood over her. "It's me!" I licked her face a few times, and she didn't know how to react. "I missed you!" I exclaimed, stepping off her. The leafeon got to her paws, her eyes holding answers to questions I was yet to ask.

"Yeah, I...kinda missed you too," she replied half-heartedly, and my grin nearly faded by almost fifty percent.

'_Isn't she happier than that to see me again?'_

"Who is _this_?!" screeched the cat-like pokémon who was the one chatting to Izante, and my friend hardly made any move to obstruct the persian's path as he leapt at me with his claws sharp and ready for a fury swipes.

"Hey, wait!" I yelped, nearly being clawed at as the normal type missed. "I'm a friend!"

"Talyn, stop," Izante simply commanded. The persian, his large body mainly buff-coloured, eyed me suspiciously and kept his teeth visible, retracting his claws. His gaze descended downwards as if I was inferior.

"This is the flareon," he guessed, but the statement sounded more confident than a mere assumption. Izante nodded, and I began wondering what was going on. 'Talyn' turned to her. "Come on, Izante—we're leaving."

"Wait," I began, trying to smile again. "W...how are you goi—"

"Oh, stick your nose into some other pokémon's business!" the 'classy' cat pokémon snapped, sneering as he took a step forwards with one of his front legs, his muscle showing near his neck. I recoiled, an angry frown quickly developing. I growled and he hissed, backing up to sit next to Izante. I narrowed my eyes, shifting my attention to the undecided leafeon.

"Come with me," I insisted. "Let's get outta here. Back to our masters!"

"She's not coming with you," Talyn huffed, his tail stroking Izante's back as it flicked about her.

'_He thinks she's his __**property**__,'_ I came to think. "You can't speak for her," I retorted, fluffing up. "I know her better than you." I snorted again, spitting a wisp of fire from the side of my mouth.

"Heh. The flareon's getting pouty," he teased, and I boiled inside.

I fired a stream of flames at him, but he swiftly snatched Izante and dodged to the side. I blinked in succession, both agitated and surprised by his unexpected speed. He nudged Izante in the direction they were facing, and she gave me a blank look before taking off with him to their left, disappearing between two crates.

"Izante!" I exclaimed, determined to rescue her. She was probably under his control or something! I pursued them, spying the persian's tail curl 'round a corner between two other crates to the left further up, and I hastened my pace to become faster. I rounded the bend, but was immediately stopped as I ran into something bony. "Ugh!" I muttered, falling back onto my rump. But by the time I opened my eyes again, a human body was looming over me. I squealed and urged my paws to scramble away, but a metal-barred cage was shoved over my top, turned upside-down and quickly locked. "AHH!" I screamed, and used a hot flamethrower on the bars. However, they were like the earlier ones—coated with pokémon-proof invisible fields on the inside! "HELP!" I cried, rocking the cage as the human held it. He revealed a handheld device, and I drew a sharp breath as I realised what it was.

The electricity surged through me, making me slump as my tail leaked between gaps in the cage. Tears dropped from my eyes, and I wearily lifted my head to the direction I suspected Izante to be in. She was boarding one of the Team Rocket humans' fearow with the suspiciously persuasive persian and another human, and I could tell she knew I was captured. While avoiding my eye contact, she buried herself in the large feathers of the bird pokémon. _'How could she do this to me? Why?!'_ I stressed my teeth. "IZANTE," I screeched through dense tears. But the leafeon only restrained herself from facing me, which confused me all the more. "IZANTE!" I exclaimed again, and it must have been so loud that even my friends back on the other side of the ship could hear me.

Just as the passing thought struck me, something hacked at the Rocket man, blood splattering everywhere—including on my face. At first I thought it was Izante coming to my rescue, but that was an amateurish guess. "Reckless!" Zhol accused, growling at the human but clearly speaking to me. She blew an effortless icy wind on the cage's lock and followed up with slash, destroying the lock and even searing through some of the ice-damaged bars. I didn't manage any kind of smile, but instead a distressed expression combined with relief and misery. "We have to go!" she yelled at me, the human collapsing as he feebly held his slit throat. I nodded briskly, tackling the cage door and making it swing open. Gunshots sounded from behind Zhol, and she zipped out of the human on the fearow's sight. My thoughts were telling me thousands of things which all rushed through my perplexed mind, and I leaped from the cage, coming to a stop. I hesitated and shed my last tears as I tore away from the sight of my past best friend. I could have sworn I glimpsed a flicker of a smile on the persian's face before I disappeared, trailing Zhol as closely behind as I could while missing a bullet by a hair.

**-ooo-**

I couldn't think straight as we were racing back, and I was so confused! I didn't even want to consider reasons why my 'best friend' didn't help me out as they weakened my legs and softened my heart. The last flame of hope and trust guttered helplessly, and I struggled to find reasons to keep it alight. _'She was under a spell; that persian was controlling her!'_ I kept repeating, but nothing seemed to help. I couldn't bring myself to believe my own words of reason.

Suddenly, cold blue flames seared before me, cutting my path. I whimpered as I had to halt, and the garchomp gave a mighty roar as its fire died and its eyes burned bright. I shouted in agony as I realised how much pressure was put on me at this point, and I wanted to scream! The evil, possessed monster thudded towards me threateningly, and I evaded with everything I had, just missing its path of destruction. I used my paws, slipping to be still and turning to face the enormous beast. Zhol had also halted, but probably knew if she interfered it would go for her or attack me because of sudden movements. "Save yourself," I instructed, my eyes not removing themselves from the monster. The sneasel waited in anticipation, as did I, and something told me she wasn't going to comply. But Raiys and Hakumei had probably jumped already, or if they hadn't, they'd be waiting for Zhol to return with me.

Wind howled around me, mocking my suffering and baiting the garchomp. My tuft blew, my eyes locked in place. Tears were swept from my eyes, but they were ones previously formed. I was no longer crying, but clenching my fangs. This murderous, artificial bastard was about to kill me. I was scared out of my fur, and I didn't particularly want to die. But I would rather it be me than my friends. If it wanted my life...it would have to fight me for it.

The monster closed in on me, the ocean roaring behind as waves licked the sides of the ship, reaching out for us. I shivered uncontrollably. Would I die right here and now? Was I prepared to throw my life away for this seemingly worthy cause of the beast's disposal? And on top of that...could I actually defeat it?

The genetically modified pokémon raised a giant claw, readying it for when it came down and plunged into my body. My heart pounded in my chest and hammered my ribs, ready to explode from my chest and litter the ship's deck with my insides. Moments before it prepared to strike, it probably grinned on the inside. But I would never know.

"MOVE!" exclaimed somebody determined. I became confused, and my limbs seized up. The rocky sound of a fast-moving attack knocked at my ears, and my brain visualised an image. I still couldn't move though, disobeying the pokémon I hoped to stand by until the moment we were simultaneously unable to aid one another.

Being shoved suddenly from harm's way, I tumbled with a small and nimble dark figure before a slapping noise got me to my paws. I wished my eyes were deceiving me as a round ball of rock slammed into the garchomp, ruthlessly throwing both itself and the monster over the edge of the ship. A deafening scream erupted from my mouth, and I again bolted to the beams lining the ship's edge. "ROARAKE!" I cried, the rock and ground type uncurled from his rollout attack to see eye-to-eye with me. "No..." I whispered, my eyes shaking and my nose fizzing. The faintest of depressing smiles before his tears generated crept onto the golem's face, something telling me he was almost grateful or happy. The smile was the last thing appearing on my mind as I wept to the sound of a splosh. He seemed to dissolve into the salty expanse of liquid, the waves happily taking him and washing over where he landed. The garchomp attempted to swim, but was obviously unable to and began to sink in a flurry of splutters and protesting roars. "Oh, Roarake..." I wailed, mouthfuls of tears washing down my face and dripping eventually into the sea. I inhaled, crying at the same time. "First Luck," I whined, "AND NOW _YOU_!" I fell to the deck in an emotional breakdown, feeling the heavy inhale and exhale which choked in my throat and ended with coughs and saliva. Two claws rested on my back as an act of comfort, and I would have shoved them violently off if I hadn't been so unwilling to hurt another pokémon again.

"Golem cannot swim. The water pokémon wouldn't have been able to carry him. He was unable to survive regardless," Zhol stated, raising her voice to be heard over my loud sobs.

"HE'S DROWNING RIGHT NOW!" I hollered, raising my head to do so and lowering it once more.

"Rock and ground types are susceptible to water. It may have rendered him unconscious by this stage." Although she wasn't helping emotionally, Zhol made a good point. I guessed this was her way of cheering others up. I knew she only hid her emotion to be strong; someone had to.

"Dusty; Zhol!" exclaimed Hakumei, who bounded into view. I found it ironic that he only happened to appear _after_ the garchomp had perished. "Come on! The bomb's going to blow up in any number of minutes! Hurry!" Zhol reacted immediately by removing her paw and helping me up, and she zoomed to be next to the umbreon as I slumped my head and forced myself to follow.

The reason I managed to get myself up was a powerful one; it was one that helped me surrender myself to the cruel oceanic waves as I leaped from the ship with the two dark types either side of me. The wind rushed through my throat and brushed each strand of fur on my body, blowing my ears wildly back. With a brief time to brace ourselves, we pounded through the sea's surface, the freezing water handing me stabbing shock on a silver platter. I forgot to breathe, but the reason came back to me. Just like how I'd been swimming only days ago with Izante, I waved my paws about, strolling without enough effort towards the surface to break free of the water's hold and inhale the fresh but salty air. I was too weak to pull myself onto the walrein that was to help me and Zhol, and instead I fell through the water again, barely noticing as something swept underneath me and collected my sodden body. I began to drift away from reality as the walrein continued on, my many saviours slipping from my head. The ursaring and golem who sacrificed themselves in order to save a measly flareon like myself may have been considered foolish by me, but obviously they thought the exact opposite. Was I really worth saving if the consequences were so severe?

The image of my best friend also wandered away from my consciousness, swaying her tail as my eyes clinked closed, and making the final decision to desert me once and for all.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Washed Up

_Author's notes: I am SO sorry for how late these updates have been. -_- This isn't even half the story. XD But hopefully I'll come to the point where my writing is new enough so that I don't have to spend ages going through these older chapters and editing/rewriting them, which is what is taking me so long! Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Here's chapter thirteen. I hope to get forteen up soon. Hopefully by or after seventeen, I won't have to edit them anymore, and I'll post 'em how I have 'em!  
_

Chapter Thirteen: Washed Up

The ship had exploded into shards and splinters, incinerating anybody or anything that happened to be on board at the time. Raiys had explained to Zhol (who then explained to me) how – and I don't know how he knew it all – that if all of the evil pokémon onboard weren't killed because of the impact, then they would have drowned as a result of their incapacity to swim.

When I awoke on land, I was pleased to find that my sneasel friend was with me. I had asked her about everyone else's whereabouts, but she told me that we had all become separated in the force of the explosion. The seas were rough and the pokémon we were riding on were weak from past events. I had lowered my head at the news, wallowing in the remembrance of three lost friends. However, I was glad to have Zhol around, as I certainly didn't know these lands—nor did I have anywhere to go or want to be on my own. Master was who I longed deeply for, but knowing that...Izante was now suspected to be a Rocket pokémon, her trainer most likely was too. And our masters were together...

I would find her one day. One day when I would construct sufficient courage to track my human down and sniff her out. At the moment, I would have not the slightest inkling of which way to go, or what I might encounter along the way. I wasn't inclined to drag Zhol along with me, and neither did I have the desire to traverse unfamiliar lands alone, so until I recovered, found the right companion and discovered the way home, I would set out to find her again. I continuously questioned my reasons for not returning immediately, but splitting away from Zhol would mean I ran the risk of coming across uninvited Rocket pokémon, and she had the same problem.

Zhol had explained that her home colony would happily accept me – or, at least, they would let me stay with them for a while – so following her back would be desirable. I was extremely grateful to hear so, but showing my happiness wasn't something that was easy to do. I couldn't act friendly to anyone in my current state even if I tried, and for an understandable reason, I'd assumed. But I was somewhat confident that having something to eat and drink – and also resting – would help me recover...physically, anyway. My mental side would need more time and effort to heal. My current sights were set on chasing after any pokémon I knew from the ship—Raiys, Chance, that slowpoke... I had to know where they were.

"No. Wait till tomorrow," the ice and dark type had advised, but I was reluctant to listen. "It's dark, and you need food and rest."

"I want to find him—any of them!" I had growled, my paws digging themselves into the familiar dirt. I was angry and torn...and I knew I was wrongly taking it out on Zhol. I hadn't thought it thoroughly through, and the sneasel knew that.

"...Be careful," she had said at last, and I silently thanked her for understanding—or deciding not to argue.

My trekking had taken me along the water's edge and away from Zhol. I had not the slightest clue of which way we had come on the ship, and chances were that I was going in the complete opposite direction. I didn't care though, as I just wanted to know that my friends were alright. If they weren't, I wouldn't know what to do. I had lost nearly everything precious to me...Master, Izante, my old, brilliant life where nothing was wrong... I missed the sweet sensation life had been stroking me with prior to the great mess I had become tangled in.

_'You're not going to find them,' _my thoughts teased. _'They were all split up because of you.' _

I trudged through thick weeds, changing my ways and heading into the forest rather than trailing the sea's border. I continued to cringe as my two bullet wounds coursed pain through me again, just as they had been since I had awoken. Although the bullets themselves had been taken out by that slowpoke, the wounds didn't disappear with them. I hadn't expected them to, especially as the salt water stung, but at least it would have purged the germs. And the blood matting my coat had thankfully washed off...

The weeds were tall and plentiful, and I had to keep my head held high to see through them. Their slimy touch slithered along my fur as I brushed past them, and it was almost as if they began to taunt me as well as my thoughts.

_'You were the one who ran off to chase a lost cause and made them wait for you.'_

A cold breeze swooped into my face, jolting me back and forcing me to close my eyes. My ears and tuft also flew back, and I fought it, pushing my legs and opposing the wind. I made it out of the reeds, and the wind subsided.

_'If they had gone when you were about to jump the first time, they wouldn't have been blown back by the blast of the bomb.' _

I tumbled into a hole in the ground, whamming numerous body parts as I rolled clumsily. I came to a halt on my front, my head set out straight as the pressure was put on my jaw. I took a moment to jack myself up with my legs and climb effortlessly out of the ditch.

_'For all you know, they could be injured...they could even be dead.' _

I shook my head, becoming more tired with each and every breath. Hoothoot hooted; eyes flashed off the surrounding shrubs. My heart pounded as I suddenly realised I didn't know where I was. My head was becoming clogged, my chest feeling heavy and my lungs filling with a gas that weighed me down.

_'If you weren't around...Roarake and Luck wouldn't have had to die.'_ The thoughts became louder, their jeering piercing what remained of my confidence. _'For a WORTHLESS EXCUSE FOR A FLAREON!' _

"JUST STOP IT!" I screamed, shutting my eyes and tossing myself violently.

Voices cackled in my head, and rustling made my eyelids snap open again. I was extremely tense, and I directed my insane glare where I thought the noise was. I shivered wildly, a wicked chill edging on a spasm as my fur still dripped with saltiness. The world spun before me, the trees growing toothy grins and evil stares. More hoots taunted me, and my recurring thoughts brought tears to my eyes. I was so confused...so scared.

I screamed one last time before I completely freaked out, failing to control my fear and spiralling into a hollow hole of confusion and blackness.

-**ooo-**

"...Hhhr..." I groaned, my eyes revealing the world to me as I apparently awoke again. I was quick to observe my surroundings and figure it was still nighttime. I could smell a salty tang, knowing the ocean accompanied me. The sweet saltiness drew my mind from insanity to food, and I groaned, my stomach probably about to leap out of my body to satisfy itself. I heaved myself off my side, shifting into a sitting position. "...Zhol...?" I murmured, coughing a few times in a row while she realised I was conscious and turned. She was sitting about a metre in front of me, preparing a spread of sticks she had gathered while I was busy being zonked out.

"You're awake," she said in a curt manner.

"W-what happened to me?" I asked groggily. The sneasel explained how she had heard me screaming in the woods nearby and raced to my rescue. And a good thing too, because she said I had passed out by the time she reached me, and I could have been stalked by unkindly predators or frozen to death. Well, not death, but something uncomfortably close. "Thank you. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't brought me here."

The sneasel didn't really know how to take the compliment, and blinked. "It's only fair. I'm forever in your debt," she reminded me, and I shook my head lightly as she tended to the twigs again. "The wood requires a small flame."

I exchanged a stare with her before I shrugged and padded forward. I took a deep breath and exhaled with a fiery spice, lighting the shreds firewood and prongs of sticks. The bonfire shuddered to life and quickly brightened. Satisfied, I was about to cast my glace at Zhol for approval before I noticed the trio of fish laying on a bed of sand. My stomach once again rumbled, tossing restlessly and growling repeatedly at me. I almost drooled, but restrained myself from taking further action, saliva collecting between my cheeks, and I placed my rump on the damp dirt below.

A small noise sounded in a tree to my right, and my head shot up, alert. Focusing on the woods reminded me of the little episode I lived the last time I was conscious. The feeling poked at my stomach and rose to my chest, almost returning, and it felt terrible... But I forced the imagery from my head and filled my nostrils with the scent of fish again.

Grass surrounded one half of the area along with countless tall-stretching trees reaching for the sky, and the ocean was nearby to our other side – on account of how we barely walked a few metres from the shore – and there was a constant breeze eddying around the both of us, mingling with smoke from the fire in graceful wisps. The water didn't bother me, however, nor did it provide comfort. It was just...there.

I didn't know why cooking the fish would be necessary, as I usually ate meat raw, so I mentioned to Zhol that, in contrary to how she preferred her fish, I would humbly eat mine straight off the sand. Without consideration, she permitted me two of the three, which I gobbled up without a second thought. There was plenty of meat on each fish, and they were fresh, salty enough and altogether filling. She had to wait at least five minutes before she could stick her claws out to the skewer her fish resided to remove the stick from over the flames. She blew on the fish prior to biting at it as she held the stick at each ends with her paws. During that time, I sat watching contentedly.

I thanked Zhol once more before curling up and nodding off, and the sneasel did the same as we were warmed by the bonfire.

-**ooo-**

I backed up, my hind paws feeling the edge of the ground as sections of dirt crumbled. I turned to see them fall hopelessly into the lava lighting me from behind. I whimpered, knowing that being a flareon didn't mean I could withstand lava temperatures. In fact, there were only a few species of pokémon I knew of who wouldn't be killed instantly upon contact with the bubbling liquid.

My ears were down away and I held great fear in my heart as two silhouettes closed in on me, their daunting, single-coloured eyes boring into me. Grins were pasted on their maws, and they didn't bother to exchange speech with each other to know what the other was thinking. One was significantly larger than the other; however, I couldn't distinguish between the two pokémon's species.

In the background lay many lifeless bodies. I could hear shouting coming from somewhere else. My dark and gloomy surroundings told me I was in an unfamiliar place—one I didn't want to know about. I didn't dare think about trying to escape—first, there was nowhere for me to run, and second, even if I did I knew it wouldn't end well...

But what really got to me were the strange feelings I had—one being the sense of bitter hatred and disgust flowing through me which was greater than the fear that lingered about. My head was lowered, and I began gritting my jaws together with such strain that my teeth gained hairline cracks and my eyes watered. I felt betrayed...and in more ways than one. I was so very angry, my energy focused solely on one creature...and I knew it wasn't directed towards one of the figures closing the distance between me and them, despite the seething rage I had for those creatures as well.

"Dusty," one of them sneered, the smaller of the two evil beings approaching. The following speech was jumbled, and I couldn't make it out.

However, I replied, growling, "No... Get away from me," with a cold tone. The figure grinned wider, moving closer. It asked me something next that I couldn't make out again, yet somehow I devised a reply. From what I could understand, the creature was asking me if I would join it in committing hideous deeds. "I would rather die!"

The creature laughed a silent laugh, and screech from a distance in its place made me cringe. "That was the sound...of torture."

"You disgust me," I spat. The form stopped grinning and stood upright.

"What's the matter? Don't you like the sound of suffering?!"

"Of course not!" I roared, careful not to get too distracted and slip backwards.

The creature glanced at my back toes, lowering its head. "Careful. Wouldn't want to slip." It released a chuckle. "Join us or suffer the same fate as those fallen rocks."

I emitted a growl. "I would choose death over you in a heartbeat."

The smaller figure stepped back upon the larger one's request in time for something in the background to lunge at the two opposing me, and I watched in awe. Someone was coming to my rescue! I was unable to identify my saviour until the second I focused properly. I recoiled in shock. I recognised who it was.

_Thump. _

"Ahh, what?!" I spoke, flinging myself into a sitting position. My tuft swayed as I glanced left and right, finally resting as my head stilled. I sat my paws on the ground to prop myself up and looked down past my mane to see a feathered pokémon who appeared to no longer be living. I blinked, silently questioning what I was viewing. I looked up, having to blink again to clear my vision. "Hey, Zhol—did you catch this?" I asked. However, she just huffed and spun around, pouring sand onto the firewood as it rushed between her claws. I glimpsed an angry expression before she turned away, which puzzled me._ 'I wonder why she's in such a bad mood...'_

-**ooo-**

Zhol was venturing back through the forest, brushing past leaves and bushes. She was headed back in the direction of where she and Dusty had slept, and used her tongue to pick the last scraps of meat left between her teeth. She brushed the tiny white flakes left by bird feathers from her chest – where they had dropped – with a paw, and rose the other one, holding a second starly. The flying type had a brown head and a grey body, with its wings being half tipped with brown on the end feathers.

"I was lucky to get two." She smiled weakly to herself, having spotted the duo still asleep on a branch. "The early sneasel gets the starly."

She stared to the east to view the dim light that shone just above the horizon. The beautiful amber illumination of the world was quite a sight to see. But it also meant more pokémon would be waking—which was bad news if the area belonged to aggressive pokémon. Zhol had to pack up her act and get out of the premises with Dusty soon. She was glad she managed to catch a meal before having to head out—and catching something for Dusty as well. She would certainly be thankful for it and happy to eat!

Catching the scent of ocean and nearing the sandy dirt, Zhol was happy to see that Dusty was waking up. She was moving her limbs as Zhol approached—a sign of her presumably stretching. She couldn't see the flareon's face, however, as she was lying with her back to the dark and ice type. "Dusty...?" she began, just to ensure her theory was correct. "Are you awake?"

"No," she replied darkly, and Zhol was surprised. "Get away from me."

Zhol stood on the spot after her smile vanished. She pretended she didn't hear the last bit. "We need to leave soon. But first, you must eat," she said, holding the starly out.

"I would rather die!" Dusty exclaimed, and Zhol frowned, confused and taken aback.

"What?" she demanded, distaste in her tone. But the flareon didn't reply, her back still turned as she lay on the sand. "I caught you a starly."

"You disgust me."

Zhol recoiled, wondering why in the world her friend – if she was – was acting weird. "You...don't like them...?"

"Of course not!" she yelped.

The sneasel sighed, forgetting the fire type's strange attitude. "...If you won't eat, then get up. We have to leave. This isn't our territory." She kicked a twig aside and watched it meet with the ash-covered ones used in the fire. "Staying here with unknown pokémon could be dangerous."

"I would choose death over you in a heartbeat."

Zhol flinched, astonished. She was frozen with confusion. What in the name of Arceus would make the flareon make a comment like that? They had only met a number of days ago, but Zhol had hoped they could be friends. If this fire type preferred to be apart from her, she wouldn't object. She had no idea why the flareon was reacting so strangely, or even why she hadn't gotten up to talk to her properly, but the sneasel needn't concern herself. She narrowed her eyes, trying not to let newfound contempt control her. She rested her eyes for a collection of seconds. Abruptly she turned and threw the dead prey behind her and onto the eevee evolution's body. Her legs began to carry her to the fire's remains as she mulled over the past couple of days, frustration tinting her face.

Suddenly the flareon shot up. "Ahh, what?!" she questioned, throwing her head about. Zhol was leaning down by the burned pile of logs, dumping pawfuls of sand in some attempt to cover them. Dusty seemed to wait a moment before inquiring, "Hey, Zhol, did you catch this?" The sneasel flashed a completely unimpressed expression before going back to the fire, and then stood up. She zipped out of sight and into the forest, rounding a tree and continuing past it.

"Zhol? W-what—wait! Where're you going?" Dusty called after her, and the shuffling of feathers and paws indicated that she was coming up behind the tree. She arrived, found Zhol leaning against a trunk further up, and walked a few paces forward to take a seat. She placed the bird pokémon on the ground, not taking her eyes of the sneasel, and then raised her head again. "Everything okay?" she queried, and Zhol threw her a stern glare. The flareon made herself appear submissive and puzzled. It was also part of her plan in sitting down—to make herself smaller and somewhat innocent. "Zhol?"

Dusty cocked her head as the sneasel moved off. Dusty sighed, figuring her for the silent type who generally kept to herself. She furrowed the fur above her brow, scooped the flying type into her mouth again, and bounded away in hot pursuit of the zippy sneasel.

-**ooo-**

It had been days since I had been near a forest, and the change of atmosphere – smell, sounds, scenery and even the texture of the undergrowth – were all fantastic! I loved forests. I wasn't sure what Zhol was thinking—she'd been rather grouchy since the start of the day and I hadn't had a proper chance to talk to her. We had been on the move for a few hours, stopping every once in a while and thankfully coming across rivers we could drown ourselves in (figuratively), and then continuing. It was such an overwhelming relief when we found our first batch of water. Zhol smiled for the first time in the day, and I was so happy that I almost felt like swimming in it! However, such a concept was ruled immediately out.

We had spent a good half an hour by it, and I couldn't stop lapping up the cool, fresh water that felt _so good_ washing over my tongue and flowing down my throat. I must have swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater while I was unconscious, because otherwise I don't know how I would have survived...or, at least, I don't know how I wasn't unbearably thirsty the previous night. Being a fire type certainly didn't help when water was scarce...like on the ship. Koi had been generous enough to share his...body fluid...with me and the others on the three-day trip in the human transportation vehicle, and aside from that I think they gave us a few mouthfuls. I was not surprised to find that some of the pokémon in the cages on the ship...had died even before they were freed...simply because they were dehydrated. It was mainly young pokémon...

"You know what?" I began while Zhol and I raced through shrubs and trees. "Those Rockets killed so many pokémon that day..." I trailed off as a firm frown began to plaster itself onto my face. "Malnutrition and dehydration was one cause, and then how many of us were lost on the battle against imprisonment..." Our paws thudded against the ground as we went, kicking up dirt and crunching leaves. Zhol could run much faster – I could tell – but she was running my pace on purpose. Her arms were flying behind her as she raced, and it was simply amazing how rapidly her legs switched places with each other to propel her forward. I had always loved speed, and being able to run the speed of a sneasel sounded exciting...

I kept my eyes up ahead as I weaved between trees and jumped over burrows and stumps, and avoided ekans if I happened to spot any hidden under the foliage, waiting for prey to wander by. Luckily I was too big.

"I'm glad I was there, though," I admitted, narrowing my eyes as I extended my four legs while clearing a log. "Fighting for others in need...it just seems like the right thing to do." I could sense Zhol considering my statement, and I could only imagine that she agreed. After all, what kind of pokémon would think otherwise?

-**ooo-**

A man in a black uniform paced himself as he made his way down a corridor, a collection of three pokémon following him. His black hat that consistently slipped forward on account of how it was too large for his smaller head fell over his eyes yet again as he glanced down at his fidgeting fingers. Everyone had been deliberately laughing at him for being chosen to see the boss... They constantly mentioned the dangers of angering the boss, or even having to deal with him when his temper dictated his thoughts, and the newly-joined Team Rocket minion was not looking forward to facing him.

He kept up his pace until reaching the boss' door, which he stopped before and took several deep breaths. He muttered reassuring words to himself under his breath, his eyes closed, and looked as if he was counting things on his fingers. He finally mustered the courage to take another step, but hesitated before turning the knob on the closed door. Once he entered, he swallowed hard, ushering the three assorted pokémon into the room and directed them to the desk situated near the back of the small room. He cowardly followed.

Behind the plain desk sat a tall black chair that widened out at the top. On the desk was a phone, along with stationery, papers and blueprints, and a white mug with various stains. The desk itself had probably been one of great value when it was new, but the varnish had been scraped off in places and dirtied with marks. Around the room were a few things: a bookshelf (that looked as if it hadn't been sorted through in a while) to the left, several cabinets to the right, and a screen fixed to the back wall—the one he and his boss were both facing.

"B-boss?" started the young man, "I've brought th-the three el-eligible pokémon...sir." The chair didn't move, and as the screen on the wall flashed with different images, the man waiting assumed that he was busy. Fearing he didn't hear him, he spoke again. "...Boss?"

The screen's image shrunk to nothing as a _tink_ sounded. The man held his breath as he realised he may have upset his superior, and he waited in angst with a straightened back to be acknowledged. The chair creaked slowly around, and a man with smooth, dark hair and a shady face showed himself to his follower. He was wearing a suit with a black tie, and his eyes were barely visible under the shadow clouding his face. He placed his elbows on the desk, his five fingers meeting with each other as they straightened. The Rocket grunt seemed to shake almost noticeably as he stared past his boss with vertical arms. The boss seemed not to move his head as his hidden eyes scanned over the pokémon choices, and a gruff sigh escaped his lips. He inhaled, and the minion prepared himself.

"Who chose these?" he questioned, his voice low and serious. The man stuttered.

"Uh—uh, the Beta Admin, sir."

"Is that a fact or an assumption?"

"U-um...fact?"

"I _didn't choose_ him to pick a mere YOUNGLING!" he raged, getting to his feet and tossing an arm to the right. His other hand slammed against the solidness below him as he yelled his last word. The young Rocket breathed uneasily as he continued to stand as straight as he could, fear surging through him. He tried his best not to fall backwards.

"I-it's a very good fighter, s—"

"How could one of THOSE be a GOOD FIGHTER?" he exclaimed, flecks of his saliva spraying onto the desk's surface.

The Rocket cringed, his eyes closed. "They were all tested," he informed, fighting the instincts that told him to flee. "It's only young, but there's something amiss with its—its...with how it grew." The boss appeared to stop his heavy breathing, his teeth becoming unclenched and his arms lowering to his side. He stood tall and broad as his minion continued. "It was...trained very hard by its trainer...and has the mental c-capacity of an adult po-pokémon." The boss maintained his frown, not easily convinced. "His trainer was killed on—on the 700-T, and another trainer brought him back, s-so now he doesn't belongs to any, anyone...e-except you, sir."

To this the Rocket's superior ran a hand across his stubble. He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. "Demonstrate."

Not ten seconds later, a stout pokémon was brought in held inside a cage. It had its hands wrapped around the cage's bars, and its angry eyes showed its fury. It was thrashing about in the cage, unable to free itself, and seemed barely tame if tame at all. The Rocket carrying it didn't stop to shock it with a Rocket taser he pulled from his pocket, a device that emitted an electrical shock current to be sent throughout the subject's body, thereafter incapacitating them. They were specially designed for Team Rocket's use: silver hand-held weapons with a button in the centre of the top. They were small and convenient to carry in pockets, and were constructed of mainly metal-like plastics and bamboo, and could not be recognised by a metal detector. It was a powerful tool that was easy to store, carry and use.

The purple pokémon's body locked up in a seizure, and it shook uncontrollably afterward on the floor of the cage, its limbs having given in. The cage was set in the middle of the room and the door was opened. The man holding the cage lifted it up, tilting the pokémon out and onto the floor, still paralysed.

One of the three pokémon who were brought in by the timid Rocket member was told to approach the newly-placed pokémon, and he complied without thinking twice. His one-foot tall body gave his opponent the impression that he was weak and helpless, but the small, rounded pokémon had a menacing grin. His opponent finally got to his feet, still feeling the lasting pain from the electric surge, and stared at the pokémon a third of his size.

The pokémon appearing to still be half in his shell took a deep breath, his eyes altered by the frown accompanying the grin he wore. He analysed the normal type before him. He was mostly bluey-purple, with the exception of his closed mouth that would usually be open, which was maize-coloured. A duo of round twitching ears extended from the sides of his head. Four blunt teeth were revealed as the loudred opened his mouth. He appeared overtaken by rage, and he let out a deep rumble from within his throat—the one that was connected directly to his torso. He stamped his feet repeatedly, sneering at the minor threat which he had a difficult time finding intimidation for.

However, the first of three specifically chosen pokémon barely had to ready himself. The six cream spikes standing erect on his head did not waver with effects of timidness.

"Metronome," commanded the boss out of concern, the pokémon leisurely swayed his tiny cream paws, neutral sparks dancing between them. A gust of wind erupted from the two limbs, and a miniature tornado was sent spinning horizontally forward. It swept past the loudred as he braced himself in the centre, the sharp wind currents buffeting him and scraping at his skin. The attack was cut off, and the normal type lunged toward the smaller pokémon, his feet out in front. He came down onto the togepi, but the younger pokémon seemed anything but fazed.

"You're willing to fight for _them_?" spat the loudred, his stomp attack having hit his opposition head-on. The togepi only smiled, his unusual blood-red eyes coming into effect and washing over the loudred's astounded face.

"Metronome again," the boss said, both arms outstretched as he braced himself against the desk's surface.

The togepi's arms waggled back and forth under the pressure of another pokémon on top of him and magnificent light flashed, illuminating the whole room and causing everyone looking to shriek and protect their eyes—including the loudred, who stumbled backwards and held his two paws to his eyes. Again the egg-like pokémon leisurely moved his paws, and this time he was shot forward and he slammed into his advisory, streaks of light in his wake.

The swift move was one unable to be evaded, and due to the blindness the loudred's eyes currently withstood, he was condemned to miss his following attacks and was hit by his enemy's. He attempted to lunge, but his legs weaved and a thud rang out as his face was planted into the carpet. He seemed to get all the more frustrated, but had no time to express it as the togepi instantaneously became encased with sharp rocks suddenly summoned, and they flung forward onto the loudred, the pokémon reacting with a sharp cry of pain. The togepi didn't seem to sympathise with his foe, and instead swung his paws back and forth. This time, a wicked sphere of cerulean energy formed between them, and it crackled as white colour mixed in. The sphere acquired ebony tinges before it grew to be nearly the size of the pokémon wielding it, and with a grunt, the tiny pokémon jerked backwards as he released the ball. The loudred was witnessed getting to his feet and having not a second to bellow in fright before an aura sphere pounded into him. The boss' eyes were wide as light exploded and the unconscious pokémon stayed airborne until it whammed into the front of the desk.

A heinous smirk slithered onto the boss' face, his eyes becoming darker once more. For now, he was pleasantly glad to have been initially wrong about the chosen pokémon...

-**ooo-**

I had been lucky to avoid discovering Zhol's temper. Angering the sneasel seemed like the worst mistake I could make—even though I could only guess how scornful she would act. She had been withdrawn and quiet ever since I had woken, and I still hadn't figured out why.

Her prey-catching skills were very sharp, and she was particularly good with catching fish. I knew that humans use a long line of fine, tough plastic attached to some sort of flexible pole as well as simple spears (which were only really used when their technology hadn't begun to bloom). I learned that Zhol didn't need a spear—her claws were so sharp that she could pierce a solid rock if she really tried. And all she had to do to capture prey was focus, aim and plunge her fist into the rushing river. I had taken a seat on the bank to watch, not even thinking about venturing into the water or even onto the steppingstones Zhol squatted on to score our food. I was also glad to have had her sharing the fish with me—a lot of pokémon would probably keep it all for themselves on account of how they caught it, which, although practical, could also be seen as selfish. Especially when with another whose skills for hunting were unsharpened. Nevertheless, Master had always encouraged me to catch my own meals. Although...Izante usually did the majority of the hunting. This was, after sitting next to the river and simply watching my sneasel friend catch dinner, specifically why Zhol instructed me to collect (by what means I wasn't sure) any berries that happened to be growing anywhere in the area. So, compliantly, I had wandered off.

I hummed quietly to myself while scanning shrubbery for any signs of juicy fruit I could possibly lug back, but spied nothing useful. The forest we were venturing through was a repeated scene as far as the eye could see, and for an hour I had been looking for fruit without success. The underlay was composed mostly of dry pine needles – which had turned a copper colour – along with other extremely tall trees' leaves which happened to drop. The trees themselves stretched up for ages before they stopped, giving the impression that they were still growing. Their branches obscured any patch of sky, and as a result the forest was constantly darker than a normal day would be. It was also colder, but being a fire type, I didn't feel it as much as other pokémon may have been able to.

I proceeded forwards, coming to a stop when I scented something. It was extremely faint, but as I lifted my muzzle and put my nose to work, I caught a whiff of another type of plantation. Excited, I raced up the growing hilly forest, passing tree after tree as the scent began to strengthen. Once atop the slope, I needed not to glance about for long before laying eyes on a row of berry bushes at the foot of the small hill. The forest still stretched on for kilometres each way, looking the same, although there was a row of shrubs lining the hill's bottom that went off left and right.

The path was thicker beyond the bushes of fruit, and shrubs were more abundant. It was a better environment for stalking prey due to more coverage and the opportunity for hiding behind just about every plant and tree. If I happened to spy a bird pokémon or something along the lines of small, vulnerable prey, I might just have had a chance to snag it. It would most likely boost Zhol's mood, and I would feel more useful. But if I was unable to find food with meat, I would have to return to my friend with what the bushes provided, which, although less desirable, was my original intent anyway.

I wasn't sure if sneasel generally ate berries. I wasn't too fond of them myself, but I did enjoy some sweetness on my tastebuds once in a while, and they were that satisfying that I would certainly eat them or any other fruit if there was nothing else available.

I only had to run about twenty metres before tumbling into a bush growing nose-sized red berries, and I got to my paws and shook off so I could encase one in my mouth before tugging it off the stalk it was connected to. I bit down – regretting it as soon as I discovered the pip – and chewed the flesh, ejecting the hard centre. The odd flavour filled my mouth, making me raise my cheek muscles in response to its sourness. I decided the particular one I was testing was unripe, but I finished it regardless and swallowed. My eyes squinted and I stuck out my tongue, shaking my head speedily, while widening my mouth. "Eulegh."

Once the odd taste passed I began searching for a better piece of fruit to taste. I moved on to a bush to my right, padding slowly and assessing the plant's berry from where I stood. I made a noise of acknowledgement and happily slipped my fangs into the fruit's skin. I didn't expect it to be so soft and passive, but apparently it was. I tugged on it, hoping to rip it off the branch it was attached to, but it proved to be an annoying task. The first attempt ended with a bite of the berry in my mouth, the sweetness rushing over my tongue, and I chewed and swallowed, satisfied with the taste if not pleased by it.

The berry itself was shaped like two spheres stuck together—the bottom one larger. At its top was where it connected to the short branch, and the leaves surrounding the stalk attached to the berry were frayed. It was a rich, pinky-purple colour from what I could tell and it was about as tall as my head—but only about half the width. I had taken a chunk from its bottom, and the rest of the berry was still resting in the bush. I moved my mouth to the other side of my face as my brow burrowed, and tried again. This time I bit the thick stalk, and thankfully the fruit dropped and thudded against the earth. It acquired dirt and broken leaves on its exposed flesh wound, but I barely noticed as I snipped another two berries from their stalks and they dinted themselves upon meeting the ground.

The sudden feeling of being watched swept over me like a harmless surf attack. My fur stiffened and I whirled around immediately to catch whatever was spying on me. Peculiar shuffling and fluttering sounded nearby, and something materialised before me, a battle-ready cry being blurted beforehand. I jumped backwards as a frightened reflex before my eyes could focus and, being as clumsy as I was, I stumbled as my paws caught on each other. Being on an angle, I happened to topple into the bushes I had just been pruning and became mangled in the thin twig-branches and leaves.

I released a noise of discomfort and fright as the event occurred, and I felt many prodding ends spike into my skin. I heard a troubled gasp and another flurry of rustling as whatever it was zoomed away before I could weave myself out of the bush and onto the ground properly again. I made haste as I collected myself and stood on all-fours, my chest protruding more than usual and my head high as I scanned for predators. Thankfully nobody was there, but I was on my guard for the next twenty or so seconds while keeping dead silent. I waited longer to make sure, and when I realised the only things I could hear were the buzz of crickets and whisper of trees, I began to breathe again.

"What on Earth...was that?" I asked myself. Whatever it was, it had gone. My best bet would be that it became frightened of how strong I looked and fled.

Reconsidering as I glanced to the bushes again, I gave a small smile. My imagination was amusing.

-**ooo-**

I was still puzzled by the strange semi-encounter with a creature. I decided to try to narrow it down. It had to be something light, perhaps, because it managed to creep up on me so silently, but it could've been anything to have scuttled away at the speed it did. Judging by how it sounded, it zipped away faster than I could run, but then again I hadn't _seen_ it go—my face was buried somewhere deep within leaves and branches at the time. I hadn't even had a look at it before I had my little accident, so in terms of appearance, I had nothing to go off. Even the creature's colour had been undeterminable in the lack of light, let alone other sorts of detail.

I guessed that it didn't matter all that much since it had come and gone without causing me harm. I just hoped it wasn't going to come back for me...with its friends. But then again, how threatening could it really be? I could surely defeat it. Many of them if not all. I was totally strong enough to overcome a pokémon who escaped before I could get to my paws and fight it. _'Coward,'_ I thought sourly. _'And if it was something small enough for me and Zhol to eat, I could've caught it for us!'_

I padded through fluffy dirt, sure that I was reaching the site we were resting at. Grains of dirt flew as I kicked with each step, as they would with anyone's movement, and pattered back down again harmlessly. I stretched my jaws open to yawn sleepily, involuntary and unexplained tears gathering as I repeated the process a number of times in a row. I had stopped exerting energy to support my tail, so the bushy bunch of fur was being dragged behind me. The sleepier I got...the more my thoughts cast me into solemn territory, where thoughts of things I otherwise resisted thinking of lurked in wait. With the tiniest spec of dread, I reminded myself of Izante.

'_I wonder what she'd be doing right now...' _I shook my head furiously, trying to force myself not to think of her in that moment...but it was so hard. To have this friend for years upon years...and to have her suddenly disappear like a flamethrower into the ocean? The mist of what once was? It tore me apart...and thinking about reasons she had to betray me like she did made my nostrils flare with the scrapings of sorrow.

Why did she do it? Wasn't I her most treasured life-long friend? Wasn't I the one she could count on until we both no longer drew breath? The progressing thoughts brought that worthless, arrogant persian she was glued to into the picture, and I snorted as soon as he entered my head. Losing my best friend to a disgusting pokémon like that was distasteful, unbelievable and...heartbreaking.

In the midst of my whirring thoughts, I had to drop the four stalks connected to berries that my teeth held in place and shake my head. I clenched my eyes and forced my clawed toes into the earth below. My ears straightened like spikes out of both sides of my head. My muscles locked up as I began to shiver and my nose fizzled. I let out a breath that had built up, the first of my tears following drip by drip.

I tried my hardest not to think about such things as I opened my eyes after having them closed and collected in my mouth the berries by their stalks. I pressed on, knowing that dwelling in my own sorrow wasn't going to do me any good. _'But...I don't understand!'_ I yelled silently. _'Why would she leave if she seemed so at peace? She could have told me what was wrong, and maybe I could've solved it! Friends talk to each other... They sort things out...'_ I froze, releasing the fruit, and stared through the darkness. My eyes didn't waver as I felt a tingle between my shoulder blades. "What if...what if I was never a good friend...?" The breeze drifted by, blowing my tuft lightly to the right. "What if...what if I was too unreliable to talk to about her problems?" I frowned, searching my mind for more answers. I blinked continuously, a frown etching itself onto my face. "Was I even...her friend..._at all_?"

Panic flooded me from the tip of my ears to the end of my tail, and I was rendered suddenly helpless. My body was still as my eyes began to quiver. They welled with more tears, my vision blurring as the light I could see from the corner of my eye stretched in fuzzy extensions. A droopy, worthless feeling began to stab me with its sharpened point. Maybe...maybe I deserved betrayal. Maybe it was a just punishment for some kind of heightened inadequacy.

'_But better yet...'_ my mind began, and I listened quietly. _'Maybe she only pretended to like you this whole time.' _

A fake friendship. Only for it to end with me realising...how it felts to have been played...and eventually abandoned without game was won and I was not the winner.

I felt like I was taking a beating. A truth-awakening beating I should have had a long time ago. To have believed she was a true friend all these years was so foolish. It proved how blind I had been—how caught up in some wonderful adventure I was, only to run head-on into a wall and wake from the dream. And to seriously think that there would be someone who could take her place only ended with another assumption of an inevitable betrayal. Friends, enemies... I was beginning to doubt there was much a difference if the former could become the latter in the flick of an ear, or perhaps was for a long time...longer than anyone had known. And what was the point of a friend when you're clearly not worthy, or when in the end they're going to leave with no explanation, only for you to sit on the spot and blame yourself...?

I hung my head, listening to the many thoughts and theories convince me of the truth... I began to feel like something was eating away at me, as if I was some sort of enticing platter for negativity. I dropped onto the ground, weakened eyes gazing emptily at the soil...

...and just wept.

**-ooo-**

I felt ripples down my spine as I heard running water nearby. I hadn't noticed it before, but there was the faint rushing of a current in the near distance. I suddenly felt cold – something I didn't often feel – and I warily lifted my eyelids. The woods had become even quieter, and it seemed gloomier all of a sudden. I blinked a few times, noticing the stiffness of the fur under my eyes.

'_Did I...did I doze off?'_ I questioned, my head rising to scan the area. I was in the same place I had broken down in, but this time it felt different thanks to the increased surrounding creepiness. I felt my tail keeping my back left leg company, and the berries I was taking back to Zhol were scattered around my muzzle. I couldn't have dozed off for too long; it seemed like only minutes ago when I slumped down on the spot, and the berries could have been stolen if they were unattended for long—if anyone had the heart to steal from a hungry flareon, that was.

I hauled myself upwards, stretching my legs and feeling heavy afterwards. I lazily moved my head in the direction I sensed the river was in and began to follow my ears as soon as I had collected the fruit. It was an effort, but I managed to do so fairly easily. The wounds in my leg and ear had both become scabs, and I could no longer feel my leg muscles aching when I walked on it, which was good. And they were healing quickly, too.

I travelled for at least a few minutes before crossing paths with a wide and deep river snaking between trees and through the forest. The branches above were more spaced out, and I could see the sky, bluey black and dotted with stars. I set the food by my side and sat down. I lowered my head to the running water and began to lap it into my mouth. The iciness must have cooled my systems and put out some internal flames, and I had to stop drinking to allow my brain to unfreeze. My throat also ached, but I was too thirsty to stop straight away.

"Hi, there. Are you lost?"

I jumped out of my fur, literally almost toppling into the stream and onto the creature before me. I saved myself with a flareon's agility, luckily, and my heart thumped like a speedy suicune in my chest. I almost let loose a stream of fire in someone's half-submerged face, but I stopped myself before it left my jaws. At first I hadn't the slightest idea of what this thing was, but the familiarity of the species hopped into my head. I stared as the creature's face turned to a frown, and I took a moment to process the situation.

"What do you think you're doing?" I questioned, rather incredulous. I knew my heart would need time to calm itself, and in the meantime, I planned to find out exactly what this pokémon wanted.

The water type smirked. "A fire type, 'ey?" I blinked a few times, wondering what he meant. But by his unimpressed expression, he wasn't too happy about the fact. "Alright, waddaya want?" His eyelids lowered to rest at half-mast, and he climbed out of the water easily despite the current. His whole figure was steel blue and arched, his eyes large with red irises. I watched as he stretched, the single blue curl sprouting from his head bouncing a little, and then hung over his face. His two red cheeks rose with amusement, making me narrow my eyes a little in response. His body appeared slimy and wet – which made sense – and I had to wonder if he was cold or not. Although I was a fire type, being in water for too long – or any cold place for that matter – was a terrible mistake.

"Uh," I started, flicking my head once or so to rid myself of the sleepiness still lingering. "I was—I was just getting a drink."

"From this river?" He shook his head. "You'll be killed; this stuff's deadly."

Shivers erupted along my spine, and I couldn't do anything but stare. I would... I would die? "W-what?"

"Geez, you scare easy. I'm only pulling your leg!" he laughed. "Lemme cool you off."

With no warning other than the ambiguous words which sprouted from his mouth, a jet of chilly mud pushed through the air and onto my face, and I cringed and drew back as soon as it hit. I yelped in objection, scrambling backwards and holding up a foreleg in front of my face in some poor attempt to protect it. "Stl-l-l-l-l-l-lpp!" I gurgled through the sloppy grit. The attack was called off, and I spluttered and forced up a hunk of mud, beginning a coughing fit and keeping my eyes squeezed shut. I could imagine him stifling his cruel laughs as I stumbled to the river without opening my eyes, dipping a paw in brusquely to make sure it was there.

I went to slam my face into the water, only to discover rocks just below the surface, and a splitting pain erupted in my head after a collision with one. I let out a loud screech underwater, but unfortunately that used up my breath and I had to rise out of the despicable substance. I sucked in a breath with a wide-open mouth, releasing a cry afterward which was louder than the sound of the river itself. Knowing I still had mud on my face, I dunked it back in _carefully_ this time, and shook it from side to side with the hopes of it washing away.

After what seemed like minutes, I pulled myself from the stream and slumped by its edge, panting repeatedly. I could hear chuckling nearby, and as soon as I had swallowed in mid-pant, I threw my head is his direction, glaring with annoyance. "You idiot!" I roared, but suddenly my anger paused, drawn to something nearby.

"What the hell was he thinking?" chirped a shoulder flareon—the black one with a blood red mane, horns and little wings. She suddenly appeared hovering to my left, her anger directed at the politoed before me. I was surprised; I hadn't seen her in a while besides the momentary encounter back on the ship. She always happened to show up, as well as the angelic one, after a bump to the head. Not that THAT affected anything at all!

"He was only trying to help," insisted the white and gold one with little wings and a halo above her head. She floated by my right, looking at me with an innocent but matured expression.

"Help? Hah!" spat the demon-like one. "I didn't know you were so funny!"

"It wasn't a joke, you simple-minded, rage-driven flareon." The angel-like one just sat in mid air, her anger controlled if not absent. The other growled, her head lowering and her fur puffing up.

"Uhh..." I butted in, and the two looked at me. I moved my head to each of them at a time. I didn't really know what to say...so I didn't.

"What?" insisted the one to my left, but I just shrugged.

"You must have a view of your own," the angelic one mentioned.

"Well...I do have to agree with you," I decided, pointing my muzzle at the demonic flareon.

"HAH!" she yelled, crossing to the other one. "She agrees with me and not you."

"Dusty," the other one spoke, coming out in front of my muzzle with the other one following. "Don't let Miss Grumpy here dictate your thoughts. She doesn't set a good example for anyone to follow." By this point, the demonic one was fuming again. "Letting scorn control you like you're its puppet is not the way to go."

"Hatred is powerful! More powerful than your stupid 'calm and happiness' crap." While speaking part of the sentence, the black and red one danced around and used a silly voice to show her disapproval. "Oh, look at me, Miss I-Know-Everything! Don't be angry! Don't seek revenge! Don't do anything that could possibly hurt anyone."

The calm shoulder-flareon sighed. "You are so immature..."

"You're not seriously going to _listen_ to her drabble, are you?" the ash-coloured one questioned.

"Uh—uhh... Well, you gotta be angry and seek revenge sometimes. Bottling up the anger isn't going to cure anyone," I admitted.

"Hah! Told ya. My way's better," jeered the darker one, reclaiming the left shoulder again with a smug grin and a flaunty gait.

"Dusty, just please don't make a fool of yourself like my negative counterpart here. Remember to see things from others' points of view. It's important for success." She slowly faded away until she was but nothing. The other one had her tongue poking out as her opposite vanished, but shortly after, she too began to disappear. She had a grin on her face, and as she was seated, her tail flicked back and forth beside her as it rested against the non-existent ground. She still held the naughty smile as she faded completely, and afterwards I took a breath.

I turned to the politoed, noting his perplexed face. It was essentially a frown with an open mouth and confused eyes. "Uhh...are you okay?" he asked with caution. I snorted in a laughing fashion, knowing it wouldn't make sense to him even if I explained.

I shifted my paws around and paced backwards, then bent my neck down to collect the berries. I glanced back over my shoulder with the stalks through my teeth before I padded away, following the river back through the forest. I imagined he would have sat there for about twenty or so seconds before deciding to splash into the water – as that's what I heard not too long after – and thankfully he didn't follow.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Travelling Drags On

**Chapter Fourteen: Travelling Just Drags On**

Zhol and I had made our way north for two or so days since I had met up with her after the politoed incident. At certain stages we would come across various pokémon who attacked us for territorial among other reasons, avoiding other unwelcome parties, but we were still a while away from her home. And despite my great skill, I, for some reason, was unable to catch any prey at all...and Zhol had been getting all our food instead. For variety we ate some of the berries I managed to bring back nearly most nights. Eventually we had covered a wide expanse of land and we were both somewhat confident we would reach her colony within several days if we stuck to the right path – and with my sense of direction it was likely – and didn't take too long when we stopped for breaks.

"Ugh...hungryyy..." I complained as we sat down, belly rumbling. Zhol was probably hungry as well, but knowing her, she'd be the last pokémon to complain. I tore a leaf from nearby off its twig and began to chew, but I spat it out straight afterwards, shaking my head as if in an attempt to rid my tastebuds of the bitter flavour. "Lehck," I reacted, pulling a paw up to my face and licking it to kill the taste. "Even my fur tastes better..."

The sneasel let out a barely audible sigh as she sat with her paws set in front of her with her legs spread lazily, her back straight against the boulder behind her. Apparently she wasn't hungry, or if she was, she wasn't letting the world know...unlike me. She closed her eyes and lay down, noting that the shaded sky was a good indication of the time. I knew that was how it was supposed to be as well, but without food...it would take me forever to fall into an unconscious state. _'Who goes to bed on an empty stomach?'_

As a result, I forced myself to get up and search for something to satisfy myself with. "Zhol...I'm just gonna go for a stroll," I notified, and she responded by sliding her eyelids up about two centimetres and then returning them. "Heh, heh," I began, "I just rhymed unintentionally."

**ooo**

It hadn't been long when I stopped for a break. Kicking up soil in a frustrated manner, I slumped myself onto the earth and huffed. Why was there nothing to eat around here? No prey, no bushes with fruit... All I could do was nibble on leaves... LEAVES! _'This is getting ridiculous...'_ I thought angrily. _'There's always a bush with __**some**__ sort of fruit...'_ However, complaining wasn't going to get me anywhere... "But still!"

I got to my paws again and began to make my way agitatedly back to where Zhol was, knowing – but still secretly hoping otherwise – that on my path back there wouldn't be any food sources I had missed the first time I walked past them.

I could hear hoots and crickets as I continued through the darkness. Although I liked it, it was better when there was someone with me... But I pushed aside the thought. Or I tried. My mind wandered back to when Izante would accompany me wherever I padded... She'd be right beside me, laughing at one of my jokes and calling me crazy while our trainers were dawdling behind with each other.

I halted. It suddenly dawned on me. "Our masters were together... Izante's master and mine...together... But if...if Izante's a Rocket pokémon, then doesn't that mean..._her trainer is too_?" My eyes grew wider and I clenched my jaws. "They might still be together now..." I began to ponder another possibility, as well... A possibility that I hadn't come across before. "What if she..." I muttered, looking down. "What if her trainer wasn't a Rocket? Maybe she... She could have joined Team Rocket while _on_ the ship so she could escape. That...that stupid _cat_ could have persuaded her... And it makes sense as to why she couldn't...help me." I cringed at the memory as I let my eyes twinkle across the ground's surface, reconsidering. "No," I grunted, "impossible. There's no way they would have let her join so suddenly. Surely they would have to undergo some sort of test or training or whatever..." The plausibility of her master not being on the Rocket's side seemed minimal, which only led me to believe he was the one who started it and Izante was forced into it as a pup. "Holy Moltres..." I visualised several images of my trainer in multiple situations where she was at the mercy of my ex-friend's master, each predicament twisting painfully in my mind. "No!" I shouted, stressing my toes. However, I stopped to think. Master was smart. If she had raised me to be as smart as I was, then obviously she had to be responsible for some if not all of it. But...but what if she had been fooled? What if he led her into an alleyway in a dreary city on a blackened night and...and...

Catching me off guard, crunching leaves echoed from behind—to the west. I threw my gaze about, unable to spot whatever was making the noise, but it was obviously something distant which was drawing nearer. It was too far away and obscured by the trees between us for me to spot it – let alone identify it – and through the scattered, branchless-until-high-up trees, one would assume that it would be an easy task. And yet the darkness was lowering my sight's accuracy for one and there were many slopes throughout the forest which happened to be skilled at concealment.

I felt the need to hide, but without much cover whatsoever, it was hard to find a spot. Any shrubs – which were less than common – were not plentiful enough to provide protection and the trees were too thin for me to dart behind. They were also too spaced out for me to use more than one at the same time, so unless I could divide myself into two, a skill I was sure would be handy at times, there wasn't much of a hope. _'Even though it would be cool...'_ I shook my head, thinking that it wasn't the time to be fantasising about things I was unable to do, and kept trying to come up with a solution. With the presumable pokémon closing in, I didn't have much time. _'I could run,'_ I thought, but reconsidered once I confirmed that I was keen on finding out what it was. By the sounds of its pawsteps it was large, but then again I couldn't be sure.

Figuring I would be kept at a safe distance but I would still be able to see it, I dashed behind a tall trunk and barely had to wait until something furry came over a slope. It was taking enormous strides and it reached my place within seconds of when it was slipped into my view. I couldn't make out what it was because of its pace and the blurred darkness, but whatever its species...it was far larger than me.

The quadruped raced past with blinding speed, and I was amazed (and thankful it didn't bother to stop and...injure or eat me). However, I widened my eyes at something I caught a glimpse of before it passed... There was something...on its back...that was pointing at me. _'Pointing,'_ I repeated in my head, _'like humans do.'_ It took me another second to consider the thought of, even though I found it confusing and strange, a human actually_ being_ what was on its back. But by that time the pokémon was gone and the alleged passenger was no longer visible. It had disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Oh well. I'm too tired to worry about it," I muttered, trotting back to Zhol's sleeping spot a while later. "I should get some sleep..." I walked to the rock behind Zhol and climbed on top of it. It was smooth and had few spots of moss in little patches. I sat down, drawing my four legs in towards my body and wrapping my tail around my back two. I set my head on my paws, but my ears remained rather erect. I gave a sigh and shut my eyes, letting my mind settle in preparation for a long, well-deserved sleep.

**ooo**

"Where are we supposed to start looking?" asked a figure that sighed with agitation. The tiny light coloured pokémon seemed to avoid being touched by slimy reeds leaning over next to him.

"I don't know..." another one replied, looking disappointed and almost sad about the fact.

"Is this the place?" questioned the first form. A third pokémon bent over and skimmed a white glove-like hand over pawprints.

"It's where we were told they were," the one who had spoken second – a stout green pokémon walking on four legs – confirmed. He too glanced about, scanning the area with his triangular eyes. Two fangs stuck out from below the two nostrils he used once lifting his head to scent the air. Leaves and a closed bud on his sloping body wobbled as he zipped between nearby trees; he was sure he spotted a lead. "This way," he suggested, and the other two pokémon followed. They passed many trees on their way through, stamping marks in the dirt as they went, and finally spotted a collection of small charred logs. As the trio approached the remains of a resting place, two of them smirked. Ash sprinkled the wood, and four feathers with traces of blood on one were on the ground near their feet. Pawprints dotted the sandy dirt, and there were bigger circles where pokémon would have once sat as well as a faint scent.

"It appears we've found their campsite," the tallest of them all pointed out. He neared the collection of logs and bent his thin pink, white knee-capped legs to touch the coals. He wasn't expecting them to be hot at all, and his assumption was confirmed as he held one easily in his white gloved hand. He inclined his pink head to the left and then his right, addressing both his colleagues, and grinned maliciously.

**ooo**

"Dusty," whispered Zhol, "wake up."

"Mrmh-hurm-hurm," I uttered, eyes still closed.

"Get up," she hissed with impatience.

Lazily I opened my eyes as I realised my head was hanging off the rock. The moment I gained sight, a sharp nose – and glare – was staring down at me. "WAHH!" I squealed, scrambling from my awkward sleeping position to a seated one with my defences raised. It must only have been an hour or two later than when I had fallen asleep because it was still dark. We had company this time. "Uh, wh—..." I leaned closer to Zhol, my grogginess nearly causing me to tip. She stood right in front of the rock I had slept on and seemed to be looking sternly at a shaggy figure. She didn't move, but since I had my muzzle inches from her right ear, I knew she could hear me. "Who are they?" I began gazing around with my eyes as my head remained close to the sneasel's face, breathing slowly. By the way they had us surrounded, I was sure they weren't sticking around to play.

"Why," murmured a grass type double my height, "do you trespass?"

"...We do not trespass to cause trouble," Zhol calmly replied, her eyes serious and firm. "We are passing through."

"Nonsense!" snapped the pokémon, reacting with his whole body. "Too common is that response! And too often does it prove to be a lie!" His blanket-like mane of grey settled on his back after being tossed about while the three leaves on the end of each arm also calmed.

I expected Zhol to react with a yelled sentence of her own, but she inhaled and held her steady gaze. "Excuse me, mister shiftry," I intervened, and his piercing glare almost threw me off the rock. I took a moment to continue... "We were just leaving, so..." I dropped from the rock and flashed a phoney smile and a quick stretch. "Thanks for the hospitality. It was a pleasure to meet you all!" I strode over-gleefully off in the direction we'd be heading, but two nuzleaf stepped in my way, closing off the space between them. I kept a small, pretend smile. "'Scuse me!" But the grass and dark types narrowed their eyes and held up a hand each in an offensive stance with their other hand drawn back. Zhol shook her head disapprovingly while the shiftry stared intently at me. "Okay! Sorry!" I said in an annoyed fashion. I could have been talking to either the shiftry and his crew or Zhol—both, I figured.

"Sneasel," began the shiftry in a rusty voice, dragging on the word. Zhol's eyes switched to his. "Your kind does not live in these areas," he mused, suspicion written all over his face. "Are you not an outsider? Do you wish to pass through for a valid reason? Or is it you come here as spies?!"

"We're going t—"

Zhol snapped her head in my direction, her eyes wide and her message clear—she definitely wanted me to shut up. I submitted willingly, folding my lips in. The dark and ice type's head slowly moved back to the direction her body was facing. The shiftry only seemed more impatient. "I, Zhol, sneasel of the Usster Colony to the north, am journeying home."

'_...Usster Colony, hey? Hmm... I wonder what kind of pokémon she lives with...'_

"Where is it you come from? Hunting? You are not north enough to be on a simple hunting trip!"

I first thought he was asking where she was from again right after he had already asked. _'Uhh, she just said, ding-dong,'_ I had thought with sarcasm, but when I realised what he meant, I was the one sounding dumb.

"You must be Rokont spies!" he howled, and his gang of nuzleaf tensed and became both uneasy and angered.

I drew my head back, my face encompassed with a frown. _'...Ro...kont?' _But that became the least of my worries as I realised these pokémon could spring any second and take us out. Due to that, I readied myself in case I needed to loose a stream of fire.

"A ship," Zhol stated coldly. "We came from...a human ship." Several blinks of surprise flashed on each nuzleaf's face, and I scanned their group, noticing how shocked they all were. It was odd to see the sudden change in their attitudes.

The shiftry growled. Obviously he didn't like the sound of that. "A human ship, you say?"

Zhol responded first with a nod. "Team Rocket's ship."

Sharp breath intakes made me aware of these pokémon's familiarity with the organisation, and I had to wonder how popular they were. I heard two to three names being exchanged between members of the nuzleaf gang, and the shiftry's posture weakened a little.

But suddenly he perked up again, catching our attention. "I have had kin who were pokénapped by those vile monsters and never returned!" The pokémon stepped forward a pace. "If you are lying, I will show you no mercy. What is your proof?!"

"Shiftry," I started, stepping beside Zhol as if to back her up. I swallowed. "Have you seen a Rocket up close?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Zhol – sneasel of the Usster Colony to the north – who is _this_?"

Zhol was stumped at this according to her reaction – or lack-there-of – and I realised I was the only one besides Izante who knew about my history. Despite this though, she had a go. "She is...Dusty, flareon of another land." To 'another land' the shiftry appeared uneasy, but Zhol didn't allow him to get a word in. "She was the rescuer of _every captured pokémon_...on that vessel. Had it not been for her, many pokémon would not have escaped and many more of them would be dead."

I shrugged, holding an _"oh, shucks"_ look on my face. The nuzleaf evolution looked more convinced, but I could tell he wasn't going to stop there.

"She also fought off a possessed beast for the safety of other pokémon."

"As I have asked, what is your proof?" he shouted to silence his minions as they began quietly muttering after Zhol's explanation. "You," – he looked at me – "were asking me this _why_?"

"Oh!" I realised I hadn't finished. "Well..._have_ you seen one up close?" He sneered and answered in the affirmative. "Then did you happen to see...what they're equipped with?" I asked in a serious manner. The shiftry obviously had seen what they carried, because he flinched as soon as I mentioned it. The wicked image of when I had first seen Zhol returned to my head, and it hurt me to let it resurface on purpose. "Well, if you want proof—!"

I bent my head down at Zhol's right hip, pointing with my nose to a mark on her body where something had singed her fur and left a burn on her skin. The shiftry gasped, staggering backward. He gathered that a pokémon couldn't have done this—especially in the shape it was, and it looked more like an electricity wound than one caused by fire.

"The Team Rocket taser is a handheld weapon carried by humans who do the bidding of Team Rocket's leader. This device shoots electrical currents through the subject's bodies to make them seize up and become incapacitated via two prongs of metal—hence the two-dotted mark it left. This was used on poor Zhol because she was trying to fight for her freedom!" I almost became angry with all the motivation my explanation was gathering. "And if that's not proof enough, then...well, surely you would know of guns." I turned so my left side was facing the grass and dark type so he could see, and it must have only then set in that we were telling the truth. "I was shot by a human for finding freedom and helping other pokémon." I bent my head down, letting my wounded ear come into view to clarify it again. I waited a pawful of seconds before returning myself, and I began to analyse the shiftry, who seemed more believing.

"Hm," he grumbled, looking away. "...Do not underestimate the forest as you may have done your freedom task." He changed his position, standing with his back to us. He turned his head so we could see the side of it. "May your journey be safe." I knew he was trying to be nice, or perhaps even sympathetic, and I appreciated the effort.

In a matter of seconds the long-nosed pokémon and his gang were bounding between branches off in the direction I was facing, and I smiled. We had been able to convince a pokémon of the forest—a nice change from the pokémon we had been running into lately who wanted to challenge us without reason.

"We should get going," she mentioned, and I blinked at her, a little dumbfounded.

"Why?" I glanced to the rock I had slept on. "We barely slept!"

The sneasel closed her eyes and took a moment to breathe. "We are not well tolerated in this area. I would advise that we keep moving so we don't overstay the little welcome we have."

"Alright..." I grew a look of exhaustion as she walked in front of me, her right side in my face before she took off. "W-wait! Slow down, will ya?" I had to catch up, so I began sprinting after her. But, being so early in the morning, I couldn't quite get a grip on a proper speed and my limbs failed to move properly after a stiff sleep. "But wait! What about my sleep? I get cranky if I don't get enough sleep!" However, she didn't seem to care much for that. "Hey—will you wait up?" I growled, slowing down to a stop with a grouchy expression. "Fine," I said under my breath, huffing a wisp of fire. "Stupid nocturnal...partly." I eyed a spot of grass at the base of a common tree since rocks were less than abundant and strode over to it with slow steps. I was tired and hungry. ...And annoyed. _'Why can't she just agree for once and listen to me?' _But as soon as I sat down, a sudden hoot made me jump. I froze in the instant and began feeling...a little lonely.

"_Hoo, hoo..."_

I skimmed the leaves visually, trying to filter out any pokémon that would explain the sounds, but all I captured was rustling clumps of canopy and the noise of fluttering wings. My breathing's pace increased, and I began swallowing frequently. My fur fluffed and I became completely still while my ears awaited the next sound. Suspicious hooting and chuckling rang in the small space I had created around me, and I finally regretted having not followed that darn sneasel. I also came to realise that only then, when I was alone, I started to be freaked out by this common and harmless audio...

I squeaked as something sharp poked the back of my leg, and I leapt forward and spun around. However, I identified the predator as...a stick. "Great. Now the twigs are preying on me..."

"_**HOOO!"**_

"Eep!" I seemed to shrink as I tried not to listen to the taunting pokémon around me, but I knew I couldn't stay frozen and cowering for long. "...Okay, alright," I sighed quietly, "I'm coming already..." I bravely uncurled and turned around, unable to see far into the dark distance—meaning I couldn't see Zhol. I didn't hear her footsteps, either, which made me bite my lip. "D'aw," I whined, finding the courage to bolt through the darkness the same way Zhol vanished. _'Funny,' _I mentioned to myself. _'You can stand up to a possessed garchomp several times your height, but you can't confront the darkness on your own with a straight face? Hah!'_

I travelled for only a few minutes, zooming through the scenery with multiple thoughts on my mind. "Zhol!" I exclaimed, targeting the dark silhouette standing on what looked like the end of the path. My paws trampled hundreds of twigs and leaves as I continued to run, and the ice and dark type whirled around, slipping a claw to her lips vertically. I was aware of the rushing current I could hear a short ways away, and since she was standing on the edge of a padded (because of the thick blanket of foliage) cliff, I assumed that there was a wide river resting far below.

She seemed to be annoyed with me, and at a guess I assumed it was because I hadn't been able to keep up and chose to remain behind. But it wasn't my fault! She shouldn't have run off on me when I was still tired.

I exhaustedly padded towards her once my pace faded into a tired hobble, and every breath was a pant. "Thanks...for waiting..." I managed to sarcastically say before collapsing onto the forest's floor in front of her, several multi-shaped leaves rising and floating back down again. I could have drifted off within mere minutes had Zhol let me, but she signalled silently for me to stand beside her. I rolled my eyes and slipped out a sigh backed with agitation, stepping next to her.

"I wasn't smart to leave you by yourself," she admitted straight off, and I flattened my mouth.

"True, true," I said while nodding, my eyelids only half open.

She turned back to what was in front of her, and only then did I see it. A river as wide as I had imagined was running downstream in a rightward direction down below, and in a few places it snaked into different ways. The land that continued stretched into the distance was on the same level as the river—therefore making the cliff we were standing on the highest ground for many kilometres. Of course, there were cloud-reaching mountains in the distance that looked like they would take weeks more to reach that were far taller than the land we had been travelling on, but that didn't count.

Off to our left was the same cliff that we were on which extended until it curved around and kept going in the direction we had been heading, and I could see that not too far away it began sloping down and probably stopped doing so as it reached the rest of the land's level. The cliff had created a waterfall which fell to keep the river from stopping, bouncing and rolling off the giant stones jutting from the cliff face. One of the ways the river after the waterfall turned off in was in the direction we were headed, toward the mountains, and it basically followed the land that began slanting a few metres away from it. I might have been able to pick out more detail had it been lighter, but it was bright enough (courtesy of the glimmering stars which stroked the world with their shining touch) to make out the path ahead.

"That's lovely and all," I began, turning my head to the left, "but...can we sleep now, please? I'll promise to admire it properly in the morning and give you a melodramatic reaction."

Zhol took a breath, running her claws laxly down a tree's trunk her right paw was on and met my gaze as she faced me. She was about to comment, but nodded instead, holding back a smile I knew would have come if she hadn't been as aware of it.

"Score!" I whispered, slumping down immediately and curling up.

The sneasel turned and wandered to a tree a few metres back with a rather wide trunk and I watched as she, her back to me and on the other side of the tree, took a seat and crossed her arms. It was smart to be on watch; she was facing the forest where the more likely source of predators would come... Plus, bigger trunks meant more width which led to more comfort. It also looked like a great place for me to curl up at, and...the water nearby began to get to me. And although I could still hear it after I got to my legs and wearily walked paces back, I was happier to be right next to my travelling buddy. And besides, it was further away from the liquid. I rested my head on my paws and wrapped my fluffy tail around my side. _'...Zhol nearly smiled. That's both a good and rare sight.'_ I relaxed myself, happy to be allowed more sleep. But the thought of the dark and ice pokémon wanting to rise and shine early made me groan on the inside. That could wait till it actually happened.

**ooo**

I woke to a start as a leaf split in two. My ears flew directly up and I shot to my paws. A pokémon's eyes darted to mine, and I sleepily squinted. _'Just a pidgey,'_ I thought. _'Wait... Breakfast!'_ I bolted towards it under the direction of my stomach as they took to the air after cooing uncomfortably. "Come back! I just wanna eat you!" I taunted. I found it very convenient that the bird pokémon didn't fly through the roof-like leaves protecting me from the sun's rays, but along an obvious path of straight ahead. Luckily the way we were moving wasn't the way to the edge of the cliff, but in the direction it ran—towards the waterfall. I almost began drooling as I neared it, and I could feel my teeth about to nip its wings, but I could tell the flying type was petrified.

At first a spot appeared wherever my eyes looked, but rapidly my vision began to darken. I was alarmed and immediately tumbled over my paws, collecting droppings and dirt as I rolled. I shrieked, confused as I could no longer see. _'A pokémon attack?!' _I suspected, but my thoughts temporarily disbanded as I skidded to a stop in a strange position, my body aching of scratches from stones. Something had reopened my leg muscle wound by the feel of it, but I was unable to confirm since I was blinded! "Z-Zhol!" I called awkwardly, staying completely still in fear of something happening. Although it didn't hurt, my head felt like it was spinning and being squeezed. I blinked several times, panting heavily...and the blackness slowly leaked from my head. I blinked three more times, finding that by the end of the period my sight was almost completely clear. I waited a moment before slowly untangling myself. My head cautiously patrolled my surroundings, but nothing was out of the ordinary. I could no longer hear the pidgey's flapping wings, but food was off my mind. Sensing everything was fine, I lifted myself up, looking around another time.

"Dusty!" a frantic voice hissed, and I whipped my head around as a speedy sneasel entered from behind me.

"Z-Zhol! Stop!" I ordered, and I noticed her concerned expression as she abruptly followed my request, a fair distance between us. She obviously wanted answers, as anyone would, but I took a few seconds to keep talking. "There's..." I continued, glancing around again. "There's something out here." Zhol's head cocked to one side, and I imitated her as she tossed her gaze about to confirm my words. She scented the air as I watched her for a response, but once she finished she returned her eyes to me.

"I smell forest, you and me, and river," she said. "Bird scents linger, and several other pokémon's, but that is all besides other natural wild smells. Can you not smell for yourself?" she asked with wonder to her tone.

"Yeah, but..." I hastily trotted over to her, suspiciously checking all directions as I went. "I was blinded!" I whispered in a serious manner, her response multiple blinks. "Something fogged my vision with darkness!"

She didn't need long to have a change of expression, and the perplexity in her face subsided. "Tell me what you did," she asked. I understood why; if I made too much noise or something I could have woken up a grumpy forest resident. One who could have felt an obligation to punish me.

"Well, I woke up to a pidgey nearby which made me jump. At first I didn't care, but then I thought that it might have been a good menu item and so I chased after it, but not long into my run, black colouring suddenly crept into my view and I couldn't see! ...And then I fell over." I remembered my injury and turned my head over my left shoulder to see its damage. The scab had been removed, so it was bleeding and it hurt. I looked back to her as she crossed her arms and spoke again.

"You...got up the moment after you woke up and began running?" she confirmed, and I paused, then nodded. "Was it painful?"

"Yes!" I replied straight away, and she grew a light frown. However, it vanished after she heard my next comment. "Well...not that much since it was only stones and sticks, but..." I met her eyes again, and realised she was asking about the sight thing. "Oh—the blindness didn't hurt, but my head went all weird...but that didn't hurt either. Just felt strange."

Zhol sighed, beginning to walk past me in the same direction I had been chasing the pidgey—the way we needed to go. I shouted after her, asking her what her she thought it was and where she was going, and she stopped to turn her head as I caught up. "Blood."

"...Blood?" I wondered.

"Yes. As you lie, your blood pools in certain places in your body and doesn't circulate as effectively as if you're standing, so when you get up too quickly after being in a lying position for long enough, the blood rushes to your head, causing dizziness and blackened vision," she explained. I nodded, taking it all in.

"So...it wasn't a pokémon attacking me?"

Zhol probably wondered why I had thought that in the first place, but she shook her head. "Be more careful next time. Okay?" She waited a moment and then continued ahead. I followed, leaping twice to catch up.

"Well, come to think of it, it's happened to me a few times before. I never really got a chance to ask anyone about it." Interested, I wanted to know more. "But, Zhol—it doesn't happen often."

She sighed, probably presumed we were done with the topic, and said, "It's due to low blood pressure. And since you haven't eaten properly in more than two days, that would also be a cause."

"Uurgh, don't remind me," I complained, feeling my stomach whine at me. I told it to shut up.

I heard several screeches and other bird-like calls waver as they weaved through the air, filling all ears listening in nearby. Accompanying it was the soft swaying of the leaves and the rushing current of the river—all natural sounds. Unlike when we were on the ship; the audio there was the humming of the vessel's engine, the mournful cries of pokémon distraught or dying, the crashing waves keeping the ship afloat and the noise of pure fear. Cold, hard fear. A fear that I had never sensed or witnessed before...

The ongoing current nearby recaptured my attention. I widened my eyes. "...HOLY MILTANK!" I yelped, bounding across to the cliff's face and looking out at the scenery first before staring down. The water sparkled under the sunlight and the view spanning for kilometres was fantastic. The assorted trees danced as their branches reached for the high flying bird pokémon, the clouds watching down from the turquoise sky. It was truly a sight to behold. "ZHOL! This is magical... I can't believe a place like this exists!" I was half serious and half acting, as I promised her a proper reaction when I woke up, but it was true that this place looked better when it was light.

Zhol nodded, leaning against a trunk with her arms crossed. Even though she wasn't a happy and bouncy pokémon, she was appreciative of things worthwhile. Not that the two were obviously connected, but it was nice to see her in a situation that she was content about. And seeing her reaction, I wondered if she lived in a place like where we were and what we could see. It was either that or, being a sneasel, she lived in a frosty area cold and ice type-like and rarely got to see sights such as this one.

Reminding me of something I had been meaning to ask her regarding her living environment, once we were back on track I cleared my throat. "Hey, Zhol," I began, not waiting for a reply, "you never told me what your colony was like." She kept her eyes on our path as we stepped around holes and the occasional branch, seeming to think. Specifying, I continued, "Like...what kind of pokémon are part of it? Species, I mean. Is it mixed? Or..."

She craned her neck, swaying her arms subtly as her claws met and then parted. "The Usster Colony is a clan of pokémon from around the lands... Some came there for specific reasons and for others, it was random."

"How did_ you_ wind up living with them? Don't sneasel usually reside in icy plains...or something?"

From the moment I asked the question I knew I had chosen the wrong questions. Zhol's fists curled and tensed and her legs froze. Her face turned to that of a hurt and sorrowful expression—one I didn't often see from not only her, but anyone. She kept her glare fixed on a twig as I first thought to meet her eyes but quickly decided that would prove troublesome, so instead I stayed where I was, a step ahead of her, my gaze at the ground as well. The sneasel took a breath but didn't remove her stare. "Dusty...have I been fair and willing to talk to you whenever you asked something?"

I broke from where I was looking to change locations, but she didn't rise to meet me. "Uh-uh...yeah?"

"Then it should be reasonable to say I can't talk on behalf of this one particular matter," she uttered, a tinge of hostility to her words. I feared it was directed at me and lowered my tone.

"O...okay. Y-uhh..." I was unsure of what to say, but Zhol stepped forward and continued walking, so it was clear that all I had to do was follow. "Hey...Zhol," I started. I expected her to stop, but she kept going. "...Sorry. I didn't know it was...something you'd—"

"Dusty." She halted, this time allowing me to grab her eyes. "...It's alright." She shuffled through the leaves as I stayed on the spot for a moment and frowned.

'_...It... It is?'_

Eventually we reached the end of the cliff before it turned to our right. The waterfall's before-river had a rapid flow prior to tumbling off the edge, creating the very plentiful cascade. It was loud and threatening—I don't know _how_ so many pokémon could think that the sound was soothing. A beautiful sight? It spat on me and beckoned for me to fall and have my head hammered in under the might of its crushing weight. Refreshing? To jump in there would wreck my coat as well as extinguish any brewing fire._ 'I'll never understand the fascination with water...' _

We crossed it with a few precautions by using rocks lodged in the bottom of the water as stepping stones. I almost slipped at one point and accidentally dipped my tail into it, so the end of it was wet. Yay. But after that it was pretty simple: we moved on down the slope accompanying one of the rivers that branched off from the main one and continued to follow it through more forest.

That part of the forest was much less dry than where we had previously been, and moss was rather copious and grew almost everywhere it could. We saw more pokémon—a few more water types like goldeen and remoraid in the waters and spotted a cluster of combee buzzing about an enormous oak tree with probably enough space for a giant hive. Pachirisu were common amongst large tree and were often able to be spotted in groups of three before scurrying out of sight again. Other insect-like pokémon such as caterpie and weedle popped up in places as well, often using the same method as the pachirisu. It wasn't very welcoming that nobody was there to even give us a warm 'hello'. Sneasel and flareon never normally eat bug types! So why would either of us? And catching a pachirisu was another matter entirely and by the looks of their speed and flexibility, I would surely lose them in a chase that wouldn't last long.

Neither of us really said anything for the next few hours. The same thing repeated itself as we trekked closer to the mountains, and we both (Zhol rather reluctantly) ate a few berries we happened to pass. Water was freely available, being only metres away from us the whole time, which, although unnerving, was quite convenient.

A day had passed before we managed to snag some fish from a small pond we crossed paths with, and I was finally satisfied as I had a decent-sized one to myself. We had also covered significant ground since the day before at the waterfall, and I was confident Zhol knew where she was going. ...And hopefully she was too.

Evening fell yet again as it always did near the same time each day, the Sun hinting that soon it would submerge beyond the horizon as it shone its last rays. Zhol and I were still trekking up a hill that seemed to go on for a while—a sign that the mountains were drawing nearer. The trees were thinning out and becoming less abundant and the temperature – although at a leisurely rate – was increasingly dropping. She told me that once we were at the top of the hill we would stop and rest, and depending on how tired we were by the end we would either sleep or keep moving.

It seemed like another fifteen or so minutes before we would reach the hill's peak, and that seemed to pass painfully slowly. My legs ached by the end, but at least there was relief to aid me as I slumped against the ground and let my eyelids slide down and meet. "Zhol," I panted, listening as she must have leaned against a tree. "We are _not_ going on." I waited about five seconds for a reply, but I decided I wouldn't get one. "Come on—let's go to sleep."

I could only imagine her frown. "It's too early for that," she muttered. "And, Dusty—there's no shelter here."

I growled with annoyance, dragging on a frustrated noise while opening my eyes to look at her. "Whyyyyyy?" But I knew why. In fact, she had already said why. "Well...can we at least rest for a while?"

"...Yes," she agreed, sitting against the tree. "With the progress we're making, we should be there by tomorrow afternoon."

I blinked with surprise, a frown of my own weaving across my face. "Umm...what?" I questioned with disbelief. Was she crazy? I moved my head to the tall mountains situated still a fair while away. I became disappointed as I realised how close I thought they were compared to the reality. They hadn't been within my view for the whole day because of trees and that enormous slope, so I had pictured them not to be far. "How do we get _to _the mountains – let alone climb to the other side of them – in less than one day?" I asked cynically.

Zhol looked surprised. She glanced to the same formations I had been referring to and then back to me. "You...plan on passing the mountains?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah..." I waited for her to give me an answer to my question, but when I gave her the time to, she didn't. I then thought of something. "Wait... Your colony..._ is_ on the other side of those mountains, right?"

"No... Was that what you assumed?"

I let my thoughts figure it out, pulling myself up so I was sitting. "Hah," I chuckled, clearing my face of negative expression. "I never actually asked where it was! For some odd reason the impression I had was that it was..." I sank into a laying position, facing the direction we would head off in. "...So, does that mean the clan lives close to them?"

"Relatively. It's a few days from the foot of the closest mountain," the sneasel told me. She rose to her feet and shifted her eyes to mine. "...When is it you want to continue?" she wondered.

I met her soft stare. "Oh, soon..." I answered. "...Come on," I offered shortly after, brushing the grass beside me with my fluffy tail, smiling with a friendly tone, "take a seat." I nodded as if gesturing to the spot and telling her to sit. "We'll wait for the Sun to go down and then we'll head off. 'Kay?" I increased my smile and closed my eyes gleefully, and after she hesitated but complied, I began to sway the puff ball on my rear end. She gave somewhat of a smile of her own and bent her knees so her feet were touching and laid her arms so her paws were in the gap between them. "Great view, huh?"

"Mm," the dark and ice type nodded, and soon after, she stretched out her legs and leant on her arms before extending them behind her. "It's...pretty."

**ooo**

"...So, is it possible? Can you help us?"

I stared at the pokémon before me with the same confused and sceptical face as before, trying to understand why these creatures were so boneheaded! And I was still upset with them for their apprehension method. My head hurt. "Wh— Look, I'm sorry, but we have problems of our own right now, and to sto—"

"Please! We're begging you! We need your help!" pleaded one—the leader, it seemed.

"But you don't even know if I'm your ally or your foe at this stage! You can't just gra—" I explained in a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you manner, but I was interrupted yet again.

"But please! We can see you're a good pokémon!" the head of his colony tried to convince, his speech impediment getting on my nerves.

"But that doesn't even—!"

"We'll give you a reward..." an accomplice – the pre-evolution of the pokémon in charge – cut in hopefully.

I sighed, glancing behind me. My two abductors stood on guard—well, sat on guard at the entrance. They were, too, looking worriedly towards me, their heads lowered to make them look almost as if they had done something wrong, but I knew they were concerned about my answer. "...How long will it take?" I asked after sighing and looking at my toes. I kept my eyes on him with a non-impressed expression, agitated and impatient. My tail flicked with irritation.

"N...not long," said the supposed superior, looking to his side to the smaller pokémon, and I assumed he began to wonder if I was, in fact, going to agree. By the look on his face, I assumed he was more convinced I would help out.

"No, I want a figure. Minutes? Hours? If you ca—"

"A figure? Oh, no, no. It could be a while before they come back, or it could be in seconds! And the dams usually take most of the night to build," interjected who must have been second in charge.

I gave her a forced, very light smile as I twitched with annoyance, my hostile eyes getting in the way of my appearance of a calm flareon. But I stopped, going over her words in my mind. "Dam?" I glanced between the two pokémon, a tad eager for more answers. "What dam...?"

_Fifteen minutes earlier:_

Like I had promised, we rested for around ten minutes before getting up, stretching and clearing the other side of the hill. It had been a while since I had gone downhill, and I was forced to lope down it awkwardly, unable to own control over my ability to stop. Zhol looked as if she had similar problems, but she wasn't the one who ended up tripping and landing face-first into a tree trunk...

I redeemed myself by picking up my body as if nothing had happened and shaking off. I had become distracted and pounced on a cricket hoping to hop from harm's way, making sure I didn't crush it. Zhol watched, looking as if her plan was to press on, but I leapt after the small insect, swiping with my paws and keeping my back end raised.

We stopped moving, and Zhol explained that she was going to go ahead while I remained behind. When I asked why, she said it was to survey the coming area after claiming to have heard chatter. She aimed to keep my mind one-tracked by telling me to keep on my guard before she raced away, swerving behind a mass of bushes.

Every time I spotted a cicada or a beetle to distract myself with, I automatically switched back on task and recited the sneasel's words to remind myself of my purpose. There were only few as opposed to the many I found earlier, but the answer stumped my toe as I screwed up my face. "Ow," I whispered quickly, vengeful of the root that had disturbed me and eying it with my slit-like glare. I hadn't noticed it because of the sly darkness, and it only then occurred to me how dark it had grown. _ 'Oh. Well that explains the vanishing bugs.' _

"Pick a fight with that root," someone – or some_thing_ – began, "and it'll become obvious who'll win."

I jumped and froze on the spot, the hairs on my body standing on end as if guarding something themselves. I found it rather ironic that Zhol had kept me here to protect me in case whatever was up ahead was harmful when back where I remained was where someone else lurked. And I had no idea what their intentions were! After all that had happened, it could have been anything. I chanced a breath, keeping immobile so I could rake the suspect out of the bushes that had been appearing much more frequently. My front and right side were bushed off, giving plenty of room for a predator of any sort to slip into and conceal themselves. I swallowed, unable to spot even the slightest sign of movement.

"Seriously," they said again, and I recognised the voice to be male, "you really don't stand a chance against it."

I whirled around, the voice reaching my ear from diagonally to my right and back, where the bushes continued to stretch. There was no face...not even a claw I could see. And if I took it upon myself to release fire, it could cause a problem for the forest – as would using toxic – and attacking by using my body wasn't smart because—

"Wait... _What_?" I questioned, all fear ridding itself of my body before I acquired an insulted feeling. "Hey! I might look like a regular flareon, but I spurt a _mean_ flamethrower," I huffed, throwing my head back and to the side whilst fluffing my mane even more. "...That root wouldn't last five seconds."

"Neither would I if you burned down me and my home," he chuckled, having moved a few paces ahead but still to the right. I frowned, drawing my head back.

'_How could he...move? When I was listening for movement the whole time...?'_ "I wouldn't attack a root," I confirmed, not so sure about the accuracy of the comment when I spoke it.

"You positive? You're pretty feisty!"

"Ye-ah. Comes with my attitude. Now how about showing yourself?"

"I'd argue that it comes with your hot temper, you fiery flareon, you," he teased.

"Wh-what?" I blurted in disbelief, waiting a moment before shaking my head and stuttering in a frustrated attempt to find words and express my angry confusion. "H-h—how can you even say that?!" I exclaimed, my emotions rising.

"Well, quite easily. And I'd say, since you have a _flair _for flaring up so quickly...your ideal nickname would be Flair."

"But you don't even know me!" I boiled, offended he thought he could be so quick to judge me—even if I _was_ hot-headed! "And I don't even know you, so how about you just step out—" I squeezed through the shrubs difficultly, barely noticing as thin branches prodded my skin, and came into view of a river. It flowed down a hill to my left, in the same direction Zhol had followed, but disappeared as bushes covered the view further down.

I glanced around, puzzled about the fact that my stalker was not present, and scowled. But at the same time I noticed that the forest had changed. What I was staring out into was a large plain with only few trees. Bordering the plain was the normal forest, but I found it rather odd that there should be such a vast glade when we had seen none till this moment.

The trees and smaller plantation held their posts like troops along my right and turned to stand as a wall far in front of me and continued down the left for a while whilst bordering the exposed area. I knew I was standing in a corner, but something told me that after the part of the forest I had just been before appearing here was more of this open grassland, and since Zhol headed straight forward, she was probably there. I could hear faint noises in the distance and I wondered if perhaps there was any pokémon living further down, but at the moment, I could only see that the river turned into the area further down in a large expanse...

All too fast I was dragged back into the bushes and slammed on my side, and I immediately fired a stream of fire, but it was cut horribly short as I blacked out before I could even feel the adrenaline rush.

**ooo**

A silhouette observed as the flareon was knocked out and restrained, nodding as he imagined he had done a satisfiable job. A section of his lips parted so many fangs glinted as he grunted in a humoured fashion. "Wonder how this'll end..." With another chuckle, the creature rose and flicked a slim tail. "May fate draw us together again in the near future." He grinned, looking back another time. "...Now that would be interesting...Flair."


	15. Chapter Fifteen: A Wet Quest (Oh, Dam!)

Chapter Fifteen: A Wet Quest (Oh, Dam!)

_The present:_

I basically had no choice but to accept the offer. I could say no, but until I knew the power of this colony I didn't want to risk doing anything stupid. But at the same time...these pokémon were often known to humans, from what I remember whilst travelling with Master, as dopey and annoying as well as easygoing, so maybe I did stand a chance. But since they were part water, it posed another issue. But regardless, the only thing I was interested in was to keep moving and find somewhere to sleep—not battle or build any dams!

"I understand why you need my help for fighting off your enemies, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm a fire type! I hate water," I reminded, hoping to jolt some form of memory in the brown, chunky pokémon's presumably shrivelled mind.

"...Oh. But you could still help us," the bibarel shrugged, clearly not absorbing the information through his thick skull.

"Uhh—_how_? If I'm not going near any water, th—"

"Carry the logs!" the bidoof side-kick suggested, and in response, I rolled my eyes.

"Once again, _how_? I'm no machoke! I can't carry some half-eaten tree on my back or in my mouth!" I growled, my anger reaching boiling point. I knew I didn't have to get all steamy over a couple of dumb water types, but they really pushed the wrong buttons. "How about I help you fend off...whatever you need fending off—"

"They're strong!" the leader intervened, and I had no idea why._ I_ was in the middle of a sentence.

"...And after that you can build the dam ON YOUR OWN!"

"No, no! We need your help! You can carry the logs!" the bidoof insisted, her buck teeth and goofy eyes racking me off.

"I already _told you_ I CAN'T!" I yelled, fire leaking between my bared fangs as smoke fogged the air.

"Guards!" yipped the leader, his lardy form edging away from mine.

"H-hey!" I struggled as two bibarel came down on me like a ton of firewood. "G-get off me!" I exclaimed, unable to breathe properly. The crushing feeling spread throughout my body and I cringed, emitting a string of growls before giving in. "O-okay! SO...rry."

The two pokémon stared at me indifferently before the bidoof motioned with her head for them to un-pile. "Off." And once they did, it was a great relief to know I could feel the air circulating once again.

"Geez..." I mumbled disdainfully, eying all four pokémon with annoyance. The two in charge seemed to want me to say something else, and I sighed, blinking for longer than normal. "Look... I'll just do what I can, and then I'm outta—"

"OH, GOODY!" exclaimed the leader and his side-kick too enthusiastically, their goofy grins expanding like a jigglypuff's body inflating. I rolled my eyes, thinking something about them being overly eager while the duo of body guards appeared at my side. They apprehended me before I knew it, pressing against my shoulders as they attempted to gain grip and dragging me so my back paws were not touching the ground and my tail scraped the floor.

Soon enough I was outside in the dim light, staring at a small dome constructed of half-chewed logs I realised I had just been sighing in. "Oof," I breathed as I was released and I lay on my back for only a second before rolling to my right and onto my paws again. "Where even..." Before I could ask myself the question, my whereabouts became clear to me. I surveyed the area, taking in the sight of several domes scattered about, some made poorly and some very well. Channels of water streamed through, and for a fair while, each direction was filled with rivers branching like streets in a human city, only more randomised. I was standing on the rightmost edge of the territory, in the only log structure that was the only one on its 'street'—however, it was more like an inlet that a street, as it was a circular pool of water the house was situated in. Even though I doubted the bidoof and bibarel's abilities in the first place, I knew that something about their dens was wrong. And as I squinted my eyes to view homes in the near distance, I finally discovered the reason—they were all too high up. Usually they would be on a really small hill so that they would have to swim under to enter and inside they would be on land, but every single den I could see has their ground floor exposed. The water needed to be at least twice the level it was currently in order to submerge the appropriate amount of the huts for grounding purposes, and I began to wonder if that was the reason needed for the dam.

"D-Dusty?" asked a voice, and I spun around to spot my dark and ice friend across a shallow waterway a few metres wide. I got a shock, but at the same time a bolt of relief surged through me.

"They got you too?" I blurted, completely not expecting her to be here. I then recalled her dashing away after instructing that I should not go anywhere—a wise piece of advice. The conversations she had heard must have been the pokémon living in the area, and when they saw her, perhaps more body guards had sprung her and tied her up as well. Until she escaped.

"...'Got me'?" she questioned, and to that I gave a tiny frown. "Dusty, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah...um... You know how you told me not to move...from that place? Well, I did." I gave a sheepish smile before I caught her questioning expression. "It wasn't my decision. Some _stupid_ pokémon started yappin' about how I was weaker than a _root_. A root, Zhol! Anyway, he lured me outside the bushed off area, and then the next thing I knew I was seeing stars and being dragged into that house thing made of trees," I growled, motioning to the 'boss' office' behind me where I had been imprisoned. "I'm not here 'cause I wanna be. Those bozos captured me against my will. And—and get this: now they want me to help."

"Dusty, these pokémon are vague friends of my colony," Zhol told me, and I blinked repeatedly.

"W-wh..._they are_?" I asked, surprised in a negative kind of way._ 'Why would they want to be?!'_

"Yes. They raised one of our members as their own despite him being neither a bidoof nor bibarel."

"Right... So, do you have any idea why they need me to help them fend off...'invaders'?" I wondered, hoping she could fill me in. She only returned my question with a blank stare, and apparently it was me who needed to fill _her_ in. "Well...according to them a group o' pokémon have a problem with them," I started, muttering that I didn't blame them, and continued, "and the pokémon here are worried that they're goin' to attack."

Zhol seemed to consider the piece of information I set in front of her, and she looked crowded with thoughts as I interrupted.

"We don't _have_ to stay...do we? It's really not something I'm keen on doing..." She opened her mouth, but I couldn't resist throwing more out there. "It's not even our fight!"

"You shouldn't be so hasty," she advised, and I looked at her again. "It is true the battle does not concern either of us, but I cannot turn my back on the colony's friends. In turn I guarantee they will help us when we're in need of it."

"Great, so it's an 'even if you're not part of it, you should still care' kinda thing?" I questioned, frustrated by the idea.

"...Please understand," Zhol told me, and I assumed since she would have seen me sit, she took it upon herself to cross the stream. About halfway I gasped, nearly getting up as she looked about to be forced over. However, her balance was restored and she made it across alive.

"Welcome..." I neared her face, standing again, and spoke quietly and deeply. "To the dark side." She almost looked amused, but her confusion got the better of her and she gave a tiny frown.

"Excusing me now, please," interrupted a voice, and I whirled around and stared strangely at a bidoof slightly bigger than the one that had been inside the log enclosure. She was standing on her hind legs and waved with one of her front ones, and I had to wonder why she was doing such a thing.

We continued to look at her oddly as she waved. "Uhh... I am...excusing you now, please?" I answered, finding her way of speaking odd.

"You are coming with me now, please," she insisted, and lowered herself.

I shrugged and neared her, but what I didn't expect was for her to turn around and begin to lead me. "W-Wait," I called, and she turned around—thankfully. I caught up to her in three leaps while Zhol _poof_ed beside me. "Where're we going?"

The bidoof tilted back her head to think, and it was a full few seconds before she came up with a reply. "I am taking you now to have the battle plan for tonight explained to you, flareon."

She turned back on course and waddled away. I followed closely. "Battle plan?" I asked with a rather monotone voice. I felt like face-pawing.

We were led through the area and to a large dome. The problem was that it was surrounded by water...and I assumed it was _deep_ water. "We are here now," mentioned the duel type, bringing us to the edge of the part of land we were on. As I scanned the dome, I realised that it had no entrances and cocked my brow.

"Uhh...yeah. How exactly do we get in? I don't even see a way through," I huffed.

The bidoof made a sloppy dive into the water, drops flying through the air at us. I jumped back, still unintentionally catching some of them, and her head appeared shortly after, having emerged. "We are going underwater now, please, where the entrance is."

"Wa-wh-_WHAT_?!" I yelled, my eyes large and unbelieving.

"Is there a problem?" asked our tour guide.

"Uhh, yeah! I'm a _fire type_!" I answered, thinking I'd have to spell it out for her. I nearly laughed at the sheer stupidity, my temper rising. "Fire types hate water!"

"Dusty, you have to comply," the sneasel beside me mentioned.

I FELT BETRAYED...well, to a non-serious extent, but I was still reluctant. "But, Zhol!" I whined, reluctantly chancing a glance at the icky substance so plentiful around the bidoof/bibarel camp. "I can't even swim properly...and my fur takes forever to dry! Why are you making me do this?"

"It can't be helped," she added, her expression tinged with minor empathy. "I'm not too fond of water myself."

I cocked my head, wondering what she meant. "But you're part ice," I replied absent-mindedly.

Zhol didn't give me that look I know some pokémon like Azure would give me, telling me I'm an idiot for not knowing. "Ice and water are two separate elements, even though one is created from the other."

"Oh yeah..."

"We will not dawdle for any longer!" grumped the bidoof, her tone still plain but slightly impatient. "Be following me now!"

I sighed heavily. It _had_ to be water. Walking though fire I'd be fine with, even if I was burned. I would have even crossed a clearing with poisonous gas and sludge trails, risking death by inhalation. But going into water? "Ugh..."

That horrid, daunting sound of a body hitting liquid made my ears curl, and I shuddered. Zhol didn't surface for a few seconds, and I was almost worried. When she did, she seemed considerably uncomfortable. She turned to me, her arms swaying in the water to keep herself afloat. She looked expectantly at me, as if silently telling me that if she could do it then so could I, but she didn't understand the loathing-with-a-passion I had for water...

"Quickly!" snapped the bidoof, and I eyed her with an angry glare and a scrunched nose.

I breathed in and out again, staring at the water. I held my chest high and met its edge, and it seemed to jeer at me as I contemplated the consequences. I narrowed my eyes. "I'll show _you_... Stupid water..." I dipped my paw in, recoiling instantly. "Bleh-bl-bleh-bl-bleh!" I babbled, showing my disgust with an end whine. "There's no way I'm going in there!" I backed away and met the bidoof's agitated eyes, adamant about my decision. "Put me through fire, chuck me into a pit of snakes, but _do not_ expect me to swim for you."

**ooo**

Dripping wet and slouching in the cold, a look of scorn was written all over my face. I threw my glower at Zhol for the umpteenth time, finally catching her neutral glance, and hissed under my breath, "This is stupid." She nearly smirked in response, her eyes flicking to the main bibarel speaker up the front of the room. I was glad we hadn't arrived when they were setting up—even though the audience filled up most of the large space and therefore the setting was not complicated, pokémon would have taken aaaaages to get in line. Especially knowing these species...

"Commencing battle plan!" The bibarel up front attempted a walk on his hind legs, and though it was shaky and looked rather pointless to try, he was doing fairly well. He had a stick in his maw he used to point to certain marked areas with on the mud-board he had behind him. It was completely dried and had unwanted cracks in certain spots, but when it was still wet someone had drawn...something...up. There were chewed leaves mounted in selected places to show specific landmarks or areas—like the start of their territory and presumably, on the edge of the board, the start of the attacking pokémon's territory.

At one point the clumsy normal and water type nearly knocked over the large slab, which made me smile with harmless amusement, but at the same time I thought a bit about it. Was this kind of accidental behaviour common among these creatures? It seemed worrisome that it would, and I would hate to have been born as someone who couldn't help making those unfortunate mistakes all the time. Shortly after, the bibarel tilted his head and released his grip on the twig by accident and nearly choked on it. And as opposed to anyone laughing or rolling their eyes, all the pokémon in the room panicked and stood up, all ready to help their fellow colony-mate. I found that heart-warming...even if it wasn't necessary for them all to get up since only two or three were needed to assist him. Even if these weren't the smartest pokémon I had met, they were all friendly (although strangely antisocial) and thought it to be natural to look out for everyone—family, a friend or a stranger.

Half way through the battle plan meeting, I noticed that I had no idea who we were going to be up against. So far the whole discussion had been based around soldier arrangement and the huts to flee to where the young would shelter with a pawful of guards and supervisors. I was unsure of their numbers, as well, and even this colony's was a mystery. It only occurred to me then that I could ask.

"E...excuse me," I interjected, and bidoof and bibarel around me met my eyes. "Uhh...hi." Some turned back around while others kept staring, and I decided to try again, my ears standing tall to be more noticed. "Excuse me!" This time every member in the whole room had their sights on me, including the instructor...or whatever he was.

"...Oh. Are you and the one next to you the foreign pokémon I was told about who are here to help us?" he questioned, the stick having dropped from his mouth.

With all eyes on me I felt a little uncomfortable (even though back in the giant crates it didn't bother me...probably because I was angry or something), and I took a moment to reply. "W-well...'here to help us' is..." I shook my head briefly, deciding not to dwell on the terminology that didn't quite agree with me. "Um—who exactly are we fighting? And how large is their army?"

All heads turned to the front again in sync. "...I do expect you all to know that we are going up against our regular enemies—the Narrawu Colony."

They all swung back to me. "How was I supposed to know...?" I muttered, but looked at him again. "Uhh...and they would be...?"

And they turned again. "Our enemy colony," responded the bibarel.

I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes. "I figured that..."

"What?"

"N-nothing...um... That's all."

The pokémon twirled around, collecting his stick and holding it in place with his large teeth, and began talking again as if I hadn't even addressed him. I glanced to my left, catching Zhol's gaze. I raised my brow, silently communicating, and she seemed to understand I was referring to the lack of communication between me and the brown pokémon up front.

We emerged from the dome near an hour later (as much as I did and didn't want to), and I brushed off the many brown hairs that chose my pelt as their home after leaving those around me, shaking at the same time to fling the pools of water from between each fur strand. "Zhol, thank you," I muttered as the sneasel shook off by my side. She directed her gaze at me.

"For what?" she queried after waiting for me to give a reason.

"For not being part of this colony," I answered, nibbling at a knot on my right shoulder. I saw the dark type smirk from the corner of my eye.

"Get ready!" called that head lecturer bibarel after hobbling onto land from the water. More of his kind scurried around like lost rattata, looking determined but going nowhere as they would pause and turn around, only then discovering they chose the wrong way. "We should expect them..." The normal and water type looked about to give a time frame in which they would arrive; however, his expression told me that he did not know when, so he left his sentence where it was.

"Hey, Zhol, _we should expect them_," I mocked.

"Yes..." Zhol responded, and instantaneously rocketed away. She followed the waterline downstream, heading in the toward the end of the colony's territory. I was shocked, wondering why she had fled so rashly and without even consulting me. Did she plan to escape? But surely she would not abandon a fellow colony in need...not that I wouldn't, but it was against Zhol's nature to do something like that—especially since she told me herself earlier. I wiped that choice off the possibilities list.

"Zhol!" I called out, but she didn't reply as she became smaller the further away she sprinted. "Where on Earth...?" I rolled my eyes and looked ahead, charting my course as I chose to run along sections that weren't close to the many watery paths. I readied myself and pushed off the ground—only to be yelled at from behind. It sounded like one of the colony members, and they were shouting out 'flareon' repeatedly. I groaned, forcing myself to come to a halt. I watched as Zhol kept running near to the edge of the steeply-sloping cliff that was to the side of the normally-sloping land, and I dearly hoped she was going to stop before reaching it. Just to ensure she did, I stayed facing her for as long as I could, but it was cut short as the pokémon who had been trying to address me came closer. I spun around, disapproving of a sneaky approach, and looked the bibarel in the eyes. "What?" I quickly asked.

A little caught off guard by my turning and speech, the pokémon took a moment. "...What are you doing?" Her face seemed clouded with something close to worry and concern. "You weren't leaving us, were you?"

"What?" It then clicked that that would be an appropriate assumption, on account of how I probably looked about to escape. "No, I was, um, following my friend. I didn't know where she was headed."

The water and normal type cocked her head and stared past me. She must have spotted the sneasel in the distance, and as I turned around to see her myself, the pokémon spoke again, recapturing my attention. "She's the look-out now." I was marginally confused, but before I could question her statement, she interrupted. "She was assigned as the new look-out for the war to spot the enemy."

"W-what?!" I spat, taken aback. "...War? What _war_? What do you mean by 'war'?!" I began shaking my head in denial. "I didn't sign up to be a soldier! I thought this was only a stupid feud!" Images of what happened on the ship leaked into my mind, the blood staining my brain's walls and those pain-filled cries echoing from one side of my head to the other. I blinked, trying to rid my mind of the image.

"War is what we refer to battle as," mentioned the bibarel. I slid my fretting to the side, meeting her gaze with near-disgust.

"...You refer to battle...as _war_?" I hissed, my face tinted with disdain. "Do you know...what war's really like? What war _is_? You use the term as if it means nothing but a pointless tussle!"

The pokémon seemed to not know exactly what I was talking about, and calling something so minor 'war' was probably normal for her...as misinformed as that was. She stayed silent for a few moments before saying, "Come on," and began to lead me away.

"Huh?" And when I realised she was trying to separate me from Zhol, I stood my ground. "No! Where—where do you even want to take me?"

"Leave the look-out by herself and follow."

"Why? And what gives you the authority to boss me around?"

"Flareon, all outsiders are to stay in an allocated area until they can go after the w—...battle." I was slightly encouraged by her term replacement, but it didn't alter my state of mind. I was in a foreign place with strange pokémon who forced me into helping them when I did not volunteer, and I had no idea what the end result of the whole experience would be or what to expect. So defying orders was fairly high on my agenda and as part of my defence, as well.

I looked away reluctantly. "...But why? ...Why can't I stay with Zhol? ...Why do I have to stay in a hut until the battle?"

The pokémon stared at me with a hint of sympathy. "It is so you don't do anything you aren't permitted to beforehand."

"Like what?" I snapped, capturing her attention. I secretly knew taking my anger out on this random colony member wasn't going to achieve anything, but it wasn't fair. "You don't even have a right to keep me here. I could leave now."

"Flareon, please... If we don't get back, the battle plan may be sabotaged."

I scoffed. "What battle plan?" I shook my head. "Aren't we just gonna storm 'em when they get here or something?"

"...Come on," she urged, beginning to throw her glance in assorted directions. "You want to be prepared for when they attack...and so do I." She stood firm, her mind nearly as made up as mine.

As stubborn as I felt, and although I was convinced my paws that had been planted into the ground were not going to move unless I got my own way, I began to contemplate my decisions. I didn't want to dwell on them too much, as I knew those two shoulder flareon would pop up. One of my thoughts whispered about the fact that that the faster I followed the bibarel and got to the hut, the sooner I would learn how to kick the enemies' butt. But on the other paw, I didn't want to be parted with my only friend.

"Flareon..." The bibarel looked me in the eyes. "Let's go." She whirled around after bounding a few metres forward, glancing over her shoulder to make sure I was tailing her. I gritted my teeth...and ripped my paws from the ground, the scent of dirt and the rushing currents surrounding me suffocating as I sprinted after the bibarel. As much as I didn't want to leave Zhol...I knew she would be fine on her own.

We arrived at the den after half a minute of running. To my relief it was not another underwater entrance one, so all I had to do was waltz in as opposed to getting myself completely drenched in order to be inside a place I hardly wanted to be. I still hadn't dried from the previous encounter with the awful river, and I certainly didn't want the process to begin again.

The bibarel led me through a small hole on the far right of a mud wall we encountered as soon as we came in. It opened into the main room. Pokémon filled the entire hut, chatting and going over plans while others itched for the battle to begin. The place was lit up by fire at the end of the room. Since I didn't light it, my guess was that they had another pokémon able to control fire or it had been lit long ago and was kept alive by constant fuel. A musky smell occupied the air, and I felt a tad uncomfortable having it waft up my nostrils. In the midst of searching for somewhere to sit down to wait, I suddenly stopped. I blinked.

There was a face.

One that had stuck with me through our capture...through arguments and battles for freedom...and against each other that the contempt we shared. That intense dislike that sparked between us from the moment I laid eyes on her.

"_Azure_?" I stared with a blank expression that could easily have been mistaken for a light frown. She looked terribly dumbfounded and returned my stare as if she was surprised to see me...to see me alive. Her bottom jaw separated from the top one slowly, and I was sure she was about to say something. I didn't know what she could possibly say at such a time, but I wasn't about to find out.

I heard scuttling from behind, and even though I felt so distracted by the glaceon, I whirled around to view someone I was glad to see. On the contrary, she hardly looked interested in having a little chit-chat.

"They're coming."

**ooo**

I barely had any idea what was happening as the soldiers of the colony formed in a long line, some sitting in water. The enemy clan turned out to be another bunch of bibarel and bidoof, and they lived downstream from this one. They appeared steaming mad, and all were in fits of rage as they faced us in their line. I watched as their leader and this colony's leader were talking it out in the section between the two colonies. They discussed an issue I couldn't quite grasp, standing tall on their hind legs.

"You're selfish—selfish, I tell you!" yelped the opposing side's leader, growing madder and madder by the moment.

"Am not! You're selfish," retorted this side's leader.

"It's your fault! You're at fault here because you live upstream."

"If you didn't live down there then there would be no problem! We need water too," the dual type huffed.

"See, see—selfish! We can live wherever we want."

Noticing they were not getting anywhere, I tapped the bidoof beside me with my front paw. "What _are_ they talking about?" I whispered, shaking my head as I watched their pathetic argument. She seemed to be too enthralled in their babbling, so I rolled my eyes and stepped forward. The second I did so, claws gripped my back left leg. I whipped my head back to find Zhol. I tilted my head, wondering what she had to say.

"Bibarel are known for their goofiness...but also their tempers. Among other things."

I nodded and she let go. I turned and progressed towards them, and as I did, all eyes fell onto me. I tried to ignore the many stares as I approached this colony's leader. "Hey," I began in order to get their attention, interrupting their conversation. Their gazes drew to mine, and I shrugged.

"...Who is this?" questioned the other leader.

"Dusty," I answered.

The two bibarel exchanged looks. "What does she want?"

"I want to know, um, what you're fighting about." I threw my head over my shoulder to spot Zhol, who looked alert. She stared at me expectantly and I span back to the two pokémon. "Uhh, uhh... Because...I could help?" I continued, spinning back 'round to check if I had done the right thing or not. Zhol became less tense, and I sighed. I would have thought bibarel were supposed to _only_ be known for being laid-back, not for their attitudes as well.

"You don't know?" questioned the other bibarel.

"Would I be asking if I didn't?" I mumbled, and after he asked what I said, I stuttered, "Uhh—no, I don't."

"For years our colonies have been at war," – I cringed at the term – "because of our disagreement." The two pokémon laid disdainful eyes upon one another and I was certain they would start up another argument soon.

"Well...what's the disagreement?" I queried. At first the army pokémon who were able to hear us clearly looked from face to face as if they were unsure themselves, and then the two leaders seemed to chuckle. I raised an eyebrow and glanced about. "Am I...missing something?"

"The disagreement is..." began the leader who had held me hostage. "It's, uh...about...the dam."

"The dam...yeah..." I waited for them to proceed. "What about it?"

"Well...years ago, the dam...was built..._a_ dam was built between our territories," explained the other leader.

"Uh _huh_," I pressed, not understanding the _oh-so-great_ problem that sprouted from a dam.

The leader from the colony behind me then spoke. "Our land slopes down...and downwards lives _them_," he sneered. "And they have a problem with our dam."

"The problem!" intervened the opposing normal and water type. "The problem is that _when_ that dam is up...my colony gets no water."

"Oh, that's tauros cr—"

"IT'S the problem, Boon," growled the other bibarel.

"Right..." I mused, going over it in my head. "So..." I stepped between them. "You're willing to sacrifice your time and, more importantly, _lives_ over this...this...petty dilemma?"

"Petty dilemma?!" spat both bidoof evolutions, and I puffed my chest and tail to show that I wouldn't be overthrown or challenged by either of them.

"Well, this stupid indecision, then. Why can't you—"

"Because _he's_ too stubborn!" shouted both pokémon simultaneously, and I felt like folding down my ears and gluing them to the fur on the sides of my head.

"Well then, be _un_stubborn and work this out before anyone gets hurt, or worse!" I demanded, taking turns to look both pokémon in the eye. They were completely against the idea...I could tell. But what was the point in fighting when they could have just sorted everything out? I didn't understand how it could have been _that hard_. "You may not think it's my place, but you," – I glared at Boon – "forced me to help with the battle between the two colonies, so how about you listen?"

The two bibarel flashed glowers at each other and at me. However, they seemed to calm down a notch. "Fine. But only if he apologises," reasoned the other pokémon, and Boon raised his voice and the two were quick to begin arguing again.

I rolled my eyes and clenched my jaws, unsure of what to do. "Guys," I started, but their attention was on each other. I twirled around as a reflex, as if to ask someone to help. I laid my sights on Zhol and widened my eyes, jerking my head towards the pair of water and normal types. "A little help?"

In the blink of an eye Zhol had appeared beside me, and soon stood between the bibarel. They seemed somewhat offended and again the other bibarel questioned her identity. "Zhol," the sneasel quickly replied.

"Look, will you guys just quit it and sort this out instead?" I intervened. "Don't let this turn into a physical fight."

Zhol stepped back, stopping on my right. "Please," she started, the two falling silent. "...It's in the best interest of bother of your colonies."

At this the dual types blinked in unison. They made no move to speak as they considered it. "She's right," I admitted.

"...Yes," agreed Boon's right-hand bidoof. "They are right." She turned to Boon as all other colony members listened in. "If talking doesn't work, we'll do it how it's always been," suggested the smaller pokémon, and the two leaders nodded.

"What? N—" I began, but Zhol held up an arm. She turned her head to catch me with one eye, and I gave in.

The many bidoof and bibarel in the armies conversed quietly, wondering what their leaders would choose. Some I heard thought the new plan was a better idea, but others were more interested in a battle. Luckily it wasn't up to them.

"...Very well," Boon decided, his threatening tone disappearing. He and the other bibarel dropped to all-fours. "Tu and I will have a private meeting with this flareon—"

"And Zhol," I added.

"...Yes. And the decision will be made then."

"Wait..." I began, meeting Boon's gaze. "Do we get to go after that?"

He asked himself before saying, "Only if it's resolved."

At that I gaped, beginning to growl. Zhol tried calming me down with her piercing eyes, but I wouldn't back down. It was completely unjust to keep us with them when we had nothing to do with their situation. If they made the choice to brawl instead of talk, why was that our problem? If it was up to us, we'd have them figure it out by using words, because such a stupid reason to spend energy and shed tears was...well...stupid! But rather than taking this any further, I made up my mind. If they _were_ too stubborn to resolve the issue peacefully, I was going to escape. With or without Zhol.

**ooo**

An hour later we – Tu, Boon, Zhol and I, as well as the leaders' side-kicks – sat in an isolated lodge on the edge of one colony's land. I found it challenging not to fall asleep, since it had to be almost midnight and it had been a day packed with travelling, and since the room was dim it hardly prevented tiredness. We were seated on long logs that, if two more were present opposite the ones already there, would make a diamond shape.

"So, what is it you were thinking, flareon?" wondered Tu, repeating himself after I asked him to.

"Oh, um... Well, so...this whole thing's about the dam..." I looked to Boon. "When you guys build it, Tu's colony pays the price because they don't get a good flow?"

"Yep," Tu confirmed, but Boon only sighed.

"Well, in my opinion, you shouldn't have the dam."

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh," supported Tu. The other bibarel was staggered.

"But we can't do that! The dam has to stay," the pokémon protested, his voice raised. His assistant held the same opinion, and Zhol looked to be against the idea as well.

"Why do you need it?" I asked, not sure of what it even did.

"Without the dam, _our_ water levels drop because our land is on a slope. So we have to have it!"

"And when you do have one up...Tu's territory suffers the consequences," I muttered, finding the situation to be an inconvenient one. "Well, that's annoying."

"Have you...tried to make a deal before?" Zhol questioned, possibly thinking up a solution.

"We were never interested," Boon's bidoof answered, "because _they _tear the dam down after we spend all night making it."

"You...you do?" I faced Tu.

"That was _after_ you refused to negotiate!" Tu yelped in his defence.

"Alright, okay!" I shouted, feeling the tension rise. "Well...looks like we need to figure something out."

"Indeed," Zhol nodded. "I suggest..." We all turned to her as she gazed at the floor. "Perhaps if two dams were put up it would solve the problems."

I tilted my head. "...Go on. I think you're onto something." She nodded.

"One would be between the colonies, and the second would be after Tu's." She slid off the log she was on (the one diagonally across from the one Tu, Tu's bidoof and I) and drew a wonky square in the dirt with one of her powerful claws. A few centimetres after it she drew a small line, and then repeated the two shapes. "This square represents the first colony, and," – she directed out attention to the second square – "this square is the second colony. If the dams are between the two and after Tu's, the water will stay in place and neither colony will have shortages." She circled each part as she spoke, and sense began to squeeze past the impossible walls – or dams – in the bibarel's minds. "The dam after the second colony will be built first, so the water can build up, and after that the second dam will be built to fill the first colony's space. When too much water builds up or you simply want a fresh supply, remove the dams and later you can put them back into place."

All five of us nodded, impressed by Zhol's smarts. "...Nice going," I mentioned, and she gave me a weak smile. "...Cool!" I grinned as I dropped from the log. "So it's all good? Good!" I triumphantly fluffed up, happy to finally have this worked out...even though it hadn't been too long. But who knows how much longer we would have had to stay had Zhol not have come up with such a brilliant idea? _'Sleep time, sleep time!'_ I cheered inside my head, and the thought of freedom teased me as I imagined sleeping at the foot of a tree again once away from all this!

As I danced a little jig, Boon and Tu nodded to each other. "Your dam, then mine," Boon checked, and the other pokémon concurred. "Let us...get to work."

"Huh?" I slurred, stretching. "Work?"

Stares piled on top of me. "Yes, the dams. They must be built."

"Mm, great," I mumbled. "When?" My eyelids felt heavy, and hopefully I could get a few hours of rest before they made me do anything.

"...Half an hour, maybe?" suggested Tu. Boon was content with that.

"HALF—_half an hour_?!" I spluttered, choking on my own yawn. "But, but—it's nighttime! I am so ditching you."

"Dusty," Zhol whispered, her back to them. "Bibarel and bidoof can be nocturnal or diurnal. I think this colony is nocturnal."

"Well, flareon can't be! The only thing we're hard at work doing during the night is sleeping!" I howled. After the statement was made, I realised that it was perfectly normal for any flareon to be nocturnal as well, but ignored that fact and stuck to my words. "Besides...how can they not be woken up by the Sun?" Although straight after the question I felt stupid, as I noticed the only source of light there could be in one of the domes was fire. "Maybe...maybe light's not a problem, but still! If they expect me to do anything starting from in half an hour's time...they're dreamin'!"

**ooo**

"Roll it down!" a bidoof called to me, and vengefully I gave a giant log a forceful push with two front legs. It tumbled down the hillside until a team of the beaver pokémon stopped it (looking kinda funny since they were so small compared to the log). I had been at it for ages now, and it was always a few minutes before they asked me to do it again. Several times I had come close to dozing off, but not long after I was caught in the act and woken up. But those bidoof and bibarel would never understand...they were nocturnal! They were used to busying themselves this time of the day...or night. I wasn't.

"Okay!" chanted a nearby water and normal type, gleefully grinning at me. "Log movement is complete!" He looked about to pass on some sort of congratulatory gesture – such as a pat on the back – but his actions weren't going to commence after he noted the fiery glare I thrust in his direction. Instead he chuckled sheepishly and plodded down the hill in order to see how else he could be of assistance to...someone else.

With a frustrated sigh, I whirled around, unsure of what to do next. I took a step forward, tripping on a small rock and planting my face into the dirt. Grumbling, I swished around to see what could be so strong as to make me fall, but I never got the chance as I slipped on a patch of stray mud and tumbled backwards. I expected to stop within a second of beginning, but the hill on that side – where nobody happened to be at the bottom of – dropped rapidly and before I knew it, I was on a roll—literally!

"Waaaah!" I screamed, unable to navigate my way down or view my path. Sharp twigs and protruding rocks stabbed me as I continued, and it was less than comfortable.

All of a sudden, my stop was softened...and I had no idea why. I had slowed near the foot of the small hill, but I halted altogether as I clonked into what definitely didn't feel like a boulder or a tree. Dazed, I hoisted myself up, only to find I was facing the hill. Curious, I turned around and saw...and saw nothing but more ground. I blinked repeatedly, confused. To my left shrubs and taller plants grew, but nothing that would have cushioned my fall like it did, and nothing in the right spot! Causing my thoughts to stray, my ears flickered. I padded forward several metres before the sound become louder, and on the other side of tall grass I overlooked a river. It was a reasonable drop downwards, and I instantly found myself to be...extremely lucky to have been stopped when I was, because at the rate I was going I could have rolled off the edge and been carried all the way to the nearest ocean. The thought lingered until a rustle from those bushes caught me off guard. I leaped away from the short cliff and faced the plantation suspiciously, my eyes fixed on them and my stance became that of a defensive one.

"Who's...who's there?" I wondered, my voice low despite my wishes against a battle at this hour. I waited in angst for another noise, but I didn't hear another one until it was my own voice. "If...you were the one who saved me..."

"Hey, you!" called someone from atop the hill.

"Ahh!" I screeched, nearly suffering a heart attack.

"What do you think you're doing down there?" It was a random I didn't know, and she looked grumpy.

"You gave me a—"

"There's work to do! So come back," she demanded, not looking about to give up her post until I followed her order.

Cautiously I strode past the clump of greenery and eyed it, ready to spot any trace of movement. However, the first rustle must have been my imagination because not another breath was heard from that direction. And even if there was someone there, my eyesight wasn't powerful enough to spot them in the darkness.

After slogging up the hill and being told by the bibarel to run along and find another task, I was instructed to be the director of the placement of the logs for the dam along with whoever else wasn't moving and swimming with the branches and trunks. It was tiring and not overly calming, and frankly I wanted to slap those pokémon silly. They were painfully bad listeners, even though I could admit they were hard workers, so it made it all the more frustrating to tell them what to do.

But at last it was done...and I felt free. Free to go and free to sl—

"Now for the second dam," mentioned one of the bidoof who had been directing with me and began waddling away. I stood with perplexity written all over my face before it clicked.

'_The second one,'_ I thought with contempt, my eye twitching. _'Just...another few hours of work... Just...just some more hours...'_ In a fit of anger, I released a stream of fire on a nearby log, barely caring as I left and it blazed away.

**ooo**

Exhaling, the pokémon who nearly had himself revealed backed out from the shrubs. "...Lucky I was here... She would have fallen head over heels for that river down there." He nearly chuckled at his own joke as he peered over the cliff, his thin tail flickering to show his dislike for the gushing...stuff. "She's thankful," he muttered, turning left to face the direction in which he knew the flareon was headed. Nearly as quickly as he came, the pokémon loped away, having a feeling that the eevee evolution wouldn't need his assistance another time that night._ 'Until next time...Flair.'_

**ooo**

Stirring and stretching my limbs, I felt grogginess beginning to bathe me. My mouth grew into a gaping hole and I exhaled shortly after. What a good sleep I'd had! We worked all night...and till an hour or two before the Sun would have risen – which I was furious about – but it meant that I had slept like a slakoth. I waited a few moments before recalling where I was and what I needed to do, and it became clear fairly quickly. Deciding I should get up, I hauled myself to my feet and glanced about as I tried to identify something – anything – in the blackness. A muddy smell fogged my nostrils, and I cringed, thinking some cleaner air would have been nice. I noticed an opening to the left of the far side of the room and attempted to avoid tails and heads as I weaved between several pokémon. Once I appeared before the hole, I slipped through to come into an enclosed room where the entrance to the dome led me outside into the morning air. It still smelled of mud, but looking upwards, I—

My eyes widened. The Sun was positioned in the centre of the sky—no, it was further west! "Oh no!" I raced back inside, hoping that Zhol would appear before me. However, I was engulfed in darkness and couldn't see a thing. I panicked, trying to catch her scent. "...Zhol," I whispered, "Zhol!" I heard movement, but after waiting several seconds I thought it must not have been her. I scowled, scampering back outside. In all honesty, I had no idea where to look. I thought to stick with the scent idea, but thinking again, I found it to be a futile means of finding her. There were far too many scents intermingled in the surrounding area.

"Dusty!" I heard, and my relief returned, my ears flicking up.

"Saved by the sneasel," I chuckled, sighing. She appeared outside one of the lodges and dashed beside me. "Hey, Zhol! I didn't know which hut they put you in."

She nodded, looking somewhat impatient. "I've spoken to Boon about our..."

"Release?"

She flashed an amused smile. "Duty relief. We're allowed to go."

"Yes!" I chirped, bouncing on the spot. I grinned at her, and she nodded once. I sprinted away from the collection of homes, my excitement giving me an extra energy boost. "Good riddance!" I called once tilting my head skyward. I heard Zhol as she materialised beside me, and my happiness showed as I 'woohoo'ed my way down a slope.

**ooo**

"Hey, Zhol," I began, panting after being on the move for an hour or so. We had stopped by a stream and the sneasel was slurping up water she cradled in her paws. She stopped, giving them a flick to shake the remaining droplets free from her skin. I slumped off the tree stump I had climbed on top of and stood at the stream's edge. "You know yesterday how you said that we'd reach your home by the next afternoon?"

"Yes," she answered as I lapped up the cool liquid.

"...Well, because we slept in, do you think that's now an inaccurate estimate?"

Zhol puffed out a long breath, searching for the mountains in the near distance. "I do."

"In that case...how long do you think it'll take to get there? Nighttime, perhaps?" I wondered, trying to calculate judging by what she had said the day before and keeping in mind how early she thought we would have woken.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Late." She took my spot on the stump.

I went back to drinking, but when I had stopped I turned to her again. "You know... I saw Azure yesterday." But to my remark my friend only frowned. "...Oh, right," I chuckled, not having realised until then. She hadn't been present for any of my encounters with the ice type. "You don't know who she is... Well, she's a glaceon that was on the ship." Zhol seemed to flinch nearly undetectably at the mention of the ship, but other than that there was no physical reaction. "She... I met her as...a _consequence_ of being friends with Raiys. She has something against me, but...I sense something unsettling about her. I don't know what...maybe it's just that I don't like her."

"That may be it," Zhol guessed, and I nodded without meeting her gaze.

"Mm..."

Just as we had predicted, the two of us arrived on her colony's land after midnight. I didn't get a good look at the community, but I was excited to do so in the morning. And since it was so late, all I wanted to do was snooze. Zhol had disappeared, probably after telling me where she was going and where I could stay, but I couldn't remember... I was too tired! So, drowsily I hobbled along the outskirts of the premises until I wandered in, hardly paying attention to my course. I made my way to some sort of sweet-smelling cave and brushed past a slimy boulder until I collapsed, burying myself in the soft squishiness below me. I became comfortable almost instantly, and the whisper-like cooing hoothoot lulled me to sleep, the peaceful hum of insects helping.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: The What-sters?

**Chapter Sixteen: The What-sters?**

"A-are you sure...?"

"Yeah; how could she get past Splash? We all know he's challenged, but...he should have stopped her."

"Well...she looks nothing like a threat. I don't th—"

"Huh?" I murmured, inhaling deeply to fuel my lazy self and stand up. My eyes were presenting blurs to me, and I hardly knew what was going on. "I may be small," I started, sounding like I had trouble speaking for one odd reason or another, "but I'm tough!" I had raised my head for the few words, plonking it back down and feeling liquid squirt onto my face. I then licked it from my nose. "Mmm...oran berry."

"S-see?" panicked a soft voice, although I wasn't sure why she sounded that way.

"She looks kinda...out of it...to me," mentioned another, certain scepticism about her tone.

A few moments passed...and then I snapped open my eyes.

"Waah!" I yelped, startled by the sudden appearance of a group of pokémon, and I hopped to my feet. "Wh—who are you?" I swallowed, my eyes darting between a navy blue pokémon whose body looked plated with armour, a large bird pokémon with puffy, snow-white wings and a tall, and a hovering white thing with blue, purple and red in certain areas. "And where...?" My mind turned as I remembered the night before...when I had not been paying attention to where I crashed...

"The—"

"Usster Colony!" I blurted, and I received surprised glances. I heard only the sound of birds chirping outside and other expected sounds as I waited for someone to reply.

The dark coloured one with an elongated horn protruding from his forehead raised one of his strangely shaped arms, looking about to talk, but the flying type, not noticing his gesture, spoke before he could. "What are you doing here?" She sounded defensive and stern, but I really had nothing to hide or be afraid of. And if need be I could totally take on these three pokémon...possibly.

"Uh...well, see, I—" I felt a fruit squash under my front paw, and I looked down. Then I realised something. The strange shack I had taken shelter in looked to be some sort of storage room for berries. And rotten ones, it looked like.

"You've been eating our stash!" the altaria accused, and I flinched in astonishment.

"_What_?" I questioned. _'And a stash of rotten berries? Seriously?'_

"It would make sense," the heracross mused, a claw on his chin.

"What? N-no!" I wiped my face against my mane – as best I could – to rid it of false evidence. I had only stepped in some; I didn't eat any of it. "I think you've got the wrong idea."

"I know a thief when I see one," snapped the flying and dragon type, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Well if you did, you'd know I wasn't one." We engaged in a stare-down before my ears twitched.

Rustling could be heard shortly before a voice began saying, "Yukra, where are those—" A bronze figure appeared at the entrance to the room I resided in, her head nearly touching the doorway's top. As soon as she laid eyes on me, she let out a roar, but to my surprise it was a completely frightened one. She backed away, and a certain fire in her eyes told me that she wasn't prepared to be friendly to a stranger. "Intruder!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide and her body frozen up. I had no idea what to do or even if I should have done anything, but I knew throwing myself at the wall instead of her doing it for me was an appropriate action. The instant I did, she struck the now-recognisable mound of rotten berries with her enormous claws. For the first time in a few days I was somewhat scared, and I was unable to regain my attention as she dislodged her massive paws from the berries and stormed towards me in a scatter of growls and grunts.

I screamed as I attempted to flee between her legs, ending up being kicked on my way through, and she rebounded off the wall to stomp after me. I zipped out of the room and into the wilderness before the heracross wrapped me in his strong arms and brought me to a stop. I whined as I realised I was restricted and began kicking and struggling. "G-get off! Let me go!" I was desperate to get away, and being held back didn't do any good.

"Wynore! Stop!" the cloud-bird pokémon protested, spreading her wings to work as visual barriers. I heard a bellow, and presumably the ursaring had halted upon the flying type's request. "We don't think she's a threat," she continued, attempting to calm the pokémon.

"Yes—please settle down!" the white, red and blue pokémon added. She used a soft and worried tone, much like the first voice I had heard when I woke up. It was probably the same one.

I heard a reluctant snort before I hesitantly edged my eyes into view of the great bear pokémon and the other two. I was relieved to find that her sanity had returned and she seemed to snap out of her frenzy reasonably quickly. She glanced at me and I was too concerned to look away, but then she switched to the altaria's eyes, a look of uncertainty and suspicion spread across her face. "Are you sure?" she questioned incredulously, her gaze flicking to mine to coat me in a veil of accusatory suspicion. I swallowed again, wondering quietly to myself what would happen next.

"We're workin' on it," the pokémon tightly grasping me answered, no particular harshness about his voice.

"Uh," I uttered, "can you...can you, uh, loosen your grip, please? It's a little...um..." The pokémon obeyed and relaxed his hand. "...Tight. Thanks."

Silence fell upon the five of us before the delicate upright one (whose species I'd never seen before) asked, "What should we do?"

The altaria needed no longer than a moment to decide. "We'll take her to Habib."

**ooo**

'_Habib?!'_ I criticised internally, thinking the name was rather ridiculous—and from what I had guessed, he was a decision maker and intruder-labeller (hence these pokémon taking me to him). Which possibly meant a leader of some kind. Personally I found it a...strange name for an authority figure. But then again, I could be wrong. This 'Habib' could be their pet rock for all I knew.

Whispers and gasps echoed around me as I was dragged through a strange village-like setting. I found it odd that such a place could exist deep into the wild, but then again, judging the many pokémon I spotted, this community of creatures was pretty large, and they looked relatively capable of building huts such as the ones I spotted around. Master had once told me of humans using strong and muscular pokémon such as machamp and aggron to shift heavy luggage and/or to help construct homes and labour-intensive structures. They were extremely useful for those kinds of things, so I figured it was possible that they had helped with the structures in this clan.

I nearly tripped over a head-sized rock as I was transported towards the place the three pokémon (the ursaring had gone back to what she was doing before her little crazed attack on me) were taking me. "Ow!" I snapped, eying off the two pokémon beside me as they didn't show a shred of concern. The altaria was in front of me, leading the way, while the heracross and the other pokémon walked either side of me. Running back the way I came would result in a capture by the bug type, with the help of the other one – who looked like a possible ice type – so that wasn't an option.

It was strange how the one on my right hovered—was she part psychic or flying? Her body was somewhat flimsy and slim and her arms, connecting to her head, were strangely proportioned with blocky cyan at their ends, almost looking like fins, and a red ribbon-like appendage was wrapped around her waist. I had to wonder what the purpose of the two icicle-horns on her head were for, and how she could ever walk with a body that came to a random end before feet could be introduced; although, I came to the conclusion that it was the reason she hovered. I wanted to ask her what kind of pokémon she was, but at the moment she wasn't exactly a friend.

"Um," I began, attracting the attention of both pokémon on my sides. I quickly licked my lips. "Where are you taking me? And who's Habib?"

The heracross only chuckled harmlessly, and the mystery pokémon smiled. "Our colony's mayor," he mentioned.

"...Right." I continued glancing about, observing the ways of these pokémon and how they lived. We only walked through the housing area, however, but I knew there was more to the clan than just that—in the way of facilities. On the way past a few homes, I shuddered as I couldn't help but notice a giant lake at least the size of the one I had been in when I was abducted, and patches of dense trees around the joint. As we passed near the lake and the far end of the column of huts, lone trees watched as we moved past them, their branches signalling the direction I was headed.

Finally we arrived. The place was pretty large—one of the bigger homes around. It was made mostly of tree trunks and other natural materials, but it looked nothing like the bibarel and bidoof enclosures I had seen. This was properly and professionally constructed, and my guess was that my theory about strong pokémon building places like these for colonies was considerably correct. One would also have to have a knack for designing to form plans one would follow.

We stopped a couple of metres away from the entrance, which was blocked by a slab of firm but moveable stone. _'If this 'Habib' is the leader of the colony, how come his house is shut off?' _I wondered, frowning lightly. But I had to wonder no more as a voice from inside seemed to give permission, and the heracross left his place beside me, along with a random granbull and floatzel who had appeared without me realising.

They all assumed a position around the boulder and the heracross instructed, "On three. One...two..." The two other pokémon prepared themselves before 'three' was said, and then at once they all put their muscles to work.

"Heave, ho..." I muttered, and the two females nearby gave me a glance each. I shrugged, wanting to say 'what?', and looked back to the working pokémon. The heracross, due to the length of his horn, was slightly taller than the other two pokémon, but they were all nearly level. The floatzel was the smallest, since they were naturally rather little for strong-looking pokémon, but he wasn't far off. When they had managed to shift the stone all the way across, I forgot my doubt in them and instead acknowledged the butterflies in my stomach which fluttered and bounced off rounded walls.

I wasn't entirely sure why I was nervous, but I had a feeling I was about to find out as a pokémon stepped forward. "Habib, we're in need of your judgement," the bug pokémon stated, standing under the doorway once swinging open a frail wooden door. A voice from inside accepted the request and the heracross nodded, moving back for the altaria to usher me inside with an impatient look on her face. I nearly scowled at her but I was distracted by the inside. Grass coated the entire floor; some was deliberately planted while the rest of it was naturally there. Regular wooden panels making up the ceiling were interrupted by numerous windows to allow insects, warmth and light. A large batch of hay, moss and fresh grass lay at the far end of the hut, and two smaller ones were near the big one against the walls to the left and right. A wooden table composed of more logs (which I didn't find surprising) was in the centre, where hardened bark and a carved bowl of berries sat.

Waddling steadily with the help of a thick cane, a hefty pink pokémon with small charcoal eyes and a few lemon coloured belly markings appeared before me and gave a soft smile. He bobbed his head leisurely at the heracross, saying, "Thank you, Yukra," and the dual type pokémon closed the door with care.

Another fuchsia form strode forward—she was smaller and had a grey implement holding a rounded red ruby on her head. Around her neck was a frill streaked with white and blue and she had a very strong resemblance to a slowpoke. I recognised her as a slowking—and a different-to-normal coloured one at that. Perhaps she was shiny!

I waited in silence as the two pokémon wore neutral expressions. I was left to stand there and feel as my eyes darted between the two pokémon. "Uh...h-hi."

The female regarded me with a nod and a smile while the lickitung placed himself in a seated position at the opposite end of the table. "Have a seat," he insisted, the slowking also standing at the other end.

"O...kay," I agreed, cautiously pacing forward a number of steps before sitting. Surprisingly the table was low enough so that I was able to even rest my front paws on its surface if I wanted to. Maybe the table was designed that way for small visitors such as myself.

"Miss Flareon." I turned. "I will ask you a number of questions, as is my duty."

"Uhh...alright," I answered. He had probably figured I was not a threat by this point, as I failed to show any kind of hostility. Truthfully I was a little intimidated by him, being huge compared to me, and since he was the leader of a seemly powerful colony. I figured that if a heracross, a crazed ursaring, _Zhol_ and all the other strong-looking pokémon I spotted were under his rule, he must have had a considerable amount of power and respect from his followers.

The lickitung asked something as I was distracted, and I only caught the last word. When I asked him to repeat, he followed up with, "Are you a traveller?"

"Well...kind of." I thought the normal type might have been waiting for me to justify my hazy reply, but when I didn't he continued.

"Do you have reason to come through here?" he questioned. He was friendly...but naturally suspicious.

"Well, I...um." I paused to scratch my belly with my back leg, however awkward it was to reach. "I travelled here with Zhol. She said I could stay here for a while. She's...a part of your colony...?"

"Ahh!" responded the pokémon, sparking up at the mention of the sneasel's name. "Yes, Zhol! She has returned then?" After I nodded, he brightened up. "Excellent!"

"She, um," I interrupted, not meaning to. When I felt it was okay to continue I did. "Zhol and I were on the same vessel after being captured."

Suddenly the lickitung's face clouded over with stern interest and concern. By the looks of things, he had no idea what I was talking about. Instead of questioning my words, he listened further. But when I was unsure of what to say next, silence tapped the air around us.

"The, uh...the vessel that we were being stored on for transportation. We were, uh...we were also in the same...prison, if you like." I spoke with a calm tone, and Habib and the slowking gasped, the part psychic type resting one of her paws on the other pokémon's shoulder. They exchanged a worried glace and then met mine. "Is something...?"

The slowking wore a forlorn expression as she hesitated to open her mouth. "Our son and three other members of our colony suddenly disappeared at least two weeks ago. We hadn't heard from them since."

At this I was only mildly surprised—Team Rocket had captured many pokémon, and I doubt witnesses of any kind would exist to let anyone know where their friends would have gone. They would either have been caught or...disposed of. "So...Zhol was one of those other three?" I wondered, and Habib replied with a yes. I hadn't met any other pokémon from their colony on the ship, so it was possible they were in a separate crate or I simply didn't get a chance to know them. But then I suddenly thought of something. "Wait..." I attracted their attention again as I went over things in my mind. "You said your son disappeared... What's his name?"

The two flashed looks onto each other before the slowking turned to me again. "His name's Larse."

"Larse?" I confirmed, perking up. "Larse! I know Larse! I met him on the ship!"

A hushed cry of joy seeped from between the psychic and water type's muzzle. "Wonderful!" A relieved and joyous expression painted itself onto both parents' faces, and I couldn't help but smile. If only I knew my master was okay...

"Did he return with you?" the slowking inquired hopefully, and I felt sympathy twinge within me as I took a moment.

"Uhh...um...no. I'm...sorry," I replied, and the shiny pokémon seemed to deflate as she absorbed the information.

"Oh..."

"Is he well?" asked Habib, and I nodded, wanting to lift their spirits.

"He actually helped me a few times. He even saved me at some point." I glanced at my left side, noting the hole that had been healing for a number of days now. It still hurt, but nothing could get in or out—thankfully. "Yeah. I was shot in the leg by a human," I explained, standing and facing my body in a way so that the wound could be seen. The slowking nearly gasped as she saw it, and her eyes flicked to mine as I went on. "And when no-one else could, your son used his powers to remove the bullet." Their expressions relaxed, and a sense of subtle pride tickled their faces. "After that, when I was battling..." I swallowed, averting my gaze. "Um, a...well, someone, he really helped me out. I was actually, uhh...really surprised at how fast he could run," I chuckled, and the slowking's smile broadened, her eyes soft and amused. "You're son's a...great pokémon."

Habib nodded, knowing well what I meant. "He is."

Before I let a silence fall upon us for the second time, I cleared my throat. "So, um... Is it...alright if I stay a while?" The two pokémon blinked a few times in a row, and I acted casual as I shifted about on the spot. "Heh, well, I mean, I could gather berries or...or hunt! I-I can hunt... Or, um...look after anyone who needs babysitting." I shrugged, putting forward the idea even if I was less than keen on the latter.

The two pokémon seemed to consider it, but it didn't take them long before coming up with an answer. "Of course," Habib answered, and for a moment I was stunned.

"R-really?" I gave a hearty chuckle. "I can?"

"Of course, dear," the slowking repeated. As I gave off grateful grin, she added, "We can tell you aren't a bad pokémon. For bringing Zhol safely here we are thankful." I nearly laughed at the comment, since Zhol was basically the one who brought me as opposed to it being the other way around, but I concealed my amused thoughts.

Footsteps pattered the grass outside and my ears fluttered to catch the sound. I flung my head around my shoulder as the flimsy door creaked open and a head with fangs, a snout and three spikes at the back popped in. A lime green body followed, and two elongated feet with three claws on each seemed to grip the floor lightly as the pokémon came fully into view. However, as I suspected that he was going to speak, he froze, and I was unsure why. The two dangerous-looking blades that acted as arms hung suspended in midair as I watched for movement. Wings were attached to his back, looking like those of a dragonfly. His torso didn't, though—it looked armoured with a yellow undercoat, and a striped abdomen rested as his lower half, which was what the legs were linked to.  
After analysing this creature, I identified him as a scyther—a bug and flying type. And by the looks of things, he was analysing me too. "'Sup," I stated to break the silence, smiling in a friendly manner.

The mantis pokémon just stared, his eyes wary and his body stilled. He looked about to strike if I went too near, which was mildly concerning. I elected to remain seated.

"Yes?" Habib asked, the scyther's attention switching. "What is it?"

"...Your son's returned," he replied, distracted by my presence. "And another member."

"Larse?" questioned the slowking, her face completely brightening. Habib stood, surprised and silently gleeful. The pink pokémon hurried past me, slipping in an, "Excuse me," and disappearing through the door. The scyther held the door open as she went, and looked to Habib. At that point I followed his gaze to the lickitung. He bobbed his head once at the bug and flying type and then turned to me.

"We will organise an escort to show you around later. Right now you will have to excuse me, though. You are free to go as well." He gave a friendly nod and waddled past me. He murmured to the scyther something about holding the door open for me and that naturally I wasn't allowed to be in the room by myself, and the pokémon hesitated before agreeing.

Eager to greet Larse again and the other colony member who had returned (possibly from the ship as well), I too stood and approached the exit. The scyther narrowed his eyes slightly as I brushed past him, and I wanted to ask him what his problem was. But those sharp scythes prevented my questioning. After all, I didn't want to end up like that famous glameow who was supposedly killed by curiosity.

I heard the door clunk after I emerged from it and spotted a crowd of pokémon in the distance. Habib was leisurely walking towards it with his mate in front, having nearly reached the mob, and I was about to bound up to him as a blur rushed by, and I realised the scyther had taken the place by Habib's side. I huffed, thinking he was somewhat of a show off, and made the decision not to catch up.

Then something caught my eye. While passing the lake, two orange blobs managed to distract me before their eyes quickly closed and the heads submerged. I found my legs holding me on the spot before I scanned the rest of the lake's surface with my eyes before deciding they wouldn't surface again. _'Someone was spying on me...'_ I thought, but after I recalled the fact that there was more than one head. _'Well...two someones.'_

**ooo**

A duo of bodies weaved away from the constant noise, slipping into a stony passageway. An eerie breeze drifted through, chilling both figures as they padded onwards. Small indents in the walls imprisoned flames behind metal grates to light the path, and condensation caused by the fire and wet environment clouded the space between the walls; breaths were exhaled as mist. Drops falling sounded from somewhere in the passage, and every pawstep echoed off the occasional stalactite threatening to fall at any second. Sometimes the floor would feel slippery, and the occasional paw would slip, clunking into a bump on the less than flat surface.

One of the pokémon scowled, stumping her paw on a protruding rock. "Ow!" she yelped angrily, the light purr of the pokémon beside her floating about her ears in a soft laughter. She only grumbled, pausing for a second to rub a toe or two against her other leg in some kind of pointless attempt to make it feel better.

"Look where you step," advised a pale pokémon, his body slinky and somewhat graceful.

"You can see better than me—you're a persian. You can see in the dark," the other pokémon – also a pale one – stated. She coughed as the fog entered her lungs, swallowing afterwards. "So, what do you think he wants to see me for?"

"How would I know?" questioned the persian, shrugging. "I don't know—to get you to do more dirty work? Your rank has been rising..."

"Mm," nodded the second pokémon, her partly green tail hanging behind her.

"You're _nearly_ as good as me," mentioned the persian with pride. By the sounds of things he liked being of a higher status.

"Pff, I'm _better_ than you," retorted the leafeon, the odd leaf or two hanging from her body twitching. "I was here before you, Talyn."

"Hah," snorted the normal type. "Doesn't make you better," he smirked, flicking his tail with annoyance. Moments later, the two came across a stone doorway. "Oh, look. We're here." After a click, the persian slid his paw with a block in the wall forward, and it seemed to melt into the thick mass before another click sounded. With a heave and a shuffle, the door clunked and a split between two sections of it grew until an opening grinned at the newcomers. An eerie silence crept through the two pokémon's ears, and a shiver overcame the leafeon.

She dared a peek inside, quickly scanning the area. She hadn't entered the room before her in a long time...

"Hmph," grunted Talyn, turning to walk away. "Try not to get yourself injured, Izante." He padded forward a few steps before the leafeon stopped him.

"Can you...come with me?" she pleaded, her eyes round and convincing.

"Nope."

"Oh, come on. Please?"

He contemplated this for a few moments. "Can't you survive without me?"

Izante shook her head, only keen on not having to enter alone. "Apparently not."

The persian took a breath and exhaled in triumph. "I wouldn't have thought so," snicked the classy cat pokémon, pushing his chest out proudly as he walked through the gap between the two rock slabs. The grass type smiled with relief, knowing who – or what – she would face was someone she didn't want to see alone, and perhaps wouldn't have to.

Izante clambered lazily from the rather large fearow she had been riding for the past three days. She'd been flying back and forth from the headquarters and the mainland, running errands and checking up on members of the syndicate. She had only been back from the Rocket Marine Vessel for half a day before she was selected – or more like forced – to commence the chores; she had been asked to gather any lost associate who had wandered in the wrong direction. This, she had known, would take more than just a few hours—and it had.

During the period she was away, nothing particularly exciting happened, but only a day ago she arrived back at headquarters in the landing port—a section of the headquarters that had walls reaching higher than the tallest trees. A visible ceiling was missing, but in its place was a disguise. A barrier had been stably holding its place for years, and from the outside it looked like a normal rocky-scape, but on the inside it was transparent. It provided a good means of separating intruders from fellow members, and it was another defence and disguise mechanism.

As the female grass type took less than three steps forward, she was approached by a pokémon. She recognised him as no more than one of their slaves and simply ignored him, but as he seemed about to spit something out, the leafeon stopped. He was cone shaped and dark grey with a yellow overcoat-like covering. Orange bordered the yellow around his face and pupil-less eyes stared timidly at the grass eevee evolution, hesitating to speak. But when her eyes grew impatient, he decided that staying quiet would do him nothing more than a disservice. "The Director...wants to see you." He swallowed, nearly flinching as Izante scowled.

"I see," she muttered to herself, pushing past the cowering snorunt. She was consumed by the crowd of sinister and uncouth creatures clogging entrances to the landing port, eventually squeezing between each pokémon and appearing in a connecting room. It was another open passage with pokémon scattered about, and channels leading to other rooms gaped at her, causing her to choose which one she would travel through.

After navigating herself around and getting lost once or twice, Izante came across the rocky passage leading to where she was required to be. She felt great hesitation as she stepped forward, wishing her companion was with her. She pressed on, her head low between her shoulders as she imagined why she would be called to the Director's cavern.

However, as she approached, she could hear murmuring echoing from inside. She was relieved as she took that as an excuse not to go in as of yet, and placed herself at the entrance instead. After a minute of tapping her back paw and wiping her tail against the wall behind her as an act of nervousness, her ears pricked. A figure appeared at the other end of the rock corridor, where she had come in from.

"Izante," a pokémon called, getting the leafeon's attention. As she looked, she recognised the creature as a spinda—a two legged bear-like pokémon with longer ears, swirls for eyes and random polka dots of a pinky red blotched on her face. She curled her paw in towards her, signalling for Izante to come her way, and the leafeon, still hearing the chatter which seemed to be between two males, leaped down the hall and stopped before the normal type.

"What?" she hastily asked, squeezing past the spinda to be away from the path that led to danger and into the room she came from.

"Talyn needs you in the interrogation room. We have some...suspects."

Izante gave a brief nod before hurrying off, the spinda following. _'Anything to get away from...him.'_

After she went to help deal with the prisoners, she had been assigned to fly back out on a suitable pokémon to gather the other captured creatures who had been apprehended after they were spotted fleeing from the ship area. They were violently arrested and forced to come to the sinister hideout where some still had yet to arrive, and where only two or three had been tossed into the prisoner cavern already—two of which had been the ones she and her had colleague questioned. So she had flown out and arrived back the next day, which she currently was living.

Izante had been lucky to have been distracted yesterday. But today's appointment was real. Now she couldn't escape, and she was staring his somewhat secluded cave right in its grinning face. She swallowed again, glancing to Talyn for mental – and physical if she needed it – support.

She skulked through the 'doors' herself, trailing the meowth evolution stealthily as she glanced warily about. _'He could be anywhere...'_

"The persian..." hissed an echoing voice, stabbing shivers down Izante's spine, "...can leave."

The leafeon threw her head dramatically to the left, her pleading eyes reaching out to her companion. But the normal type shrugged with slight helplessness and he turned to leave. "Ta—" the grass type began, letting her shoulders flop. "...Bye, Talyn."

He nodded before striding out, the tip of his tail a hair away from being jammed in the concrete slabs' grip as they clamped shut. He got a mild shock as the noise snapped at his ears, and he shook off, thinking of his leader's manners to be poor. Before he retraced his steps back down the hallway, he set his eyes on the room he was in for only moments, hoping the one he cared for so much would not be shaken up from whatever the Director would do to her.

"Forgive me for my rudeness," hummed a shady voice again, his form still hidden. "I cannot have...Talyn...interfering or...hindering your ability to speak the truth."

The leafeon began shaking in plain sight, her attempt to conceal her fear failing. _'Surely I've been a...good member of the team; I haven't screwed up! So...so he has no reason to deal with me poorly. I'm...far too valuable to lose,'_ she told herself, standing upright as she tried to compose herself. _'...Aw, who am I kidding? He'll find some excuse to—' _

A chuckle rippled the surface of the large lake situated in the middle of the huge cavern which reached to its end. All around were stalactites and boulders of many sizes—some of them shattered or cracked in assorted places. Columns of rock thinned in the middle but thickened where they connected to the floor and the ground, and a spooky dripping noise rang every once in a while. As the leafeon continued to scan the area, she noted the scaly walls and the many indents to shape them strangely. The lake occupied much of the space in the room, and off to the sides at the far end were separate cave areas where the Director would keep...personal detainees to possibly torture. It was also rumoured to be the place that he held other, _different_ pokémon.

"Now, Izante," the voice followed up after chuckling, "you look so afraid. There is no reason to be."

As the leafeon crept forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of something to indicate the leader's whereabouts, she flinched and swerved around after sensing a shadow dart behind her. The dully-lit cavern made it hard to make out proper forms and cast whoever lay in wait unidentifiable. As another silhouette made her look frantically to her right, she panicked. More seemed to appear in assorted places, their eyes gleaming as they flashed and faded. It was only seconds before they began to surround Izante, and she cowered while watching as they closed in...

"Don't be frightened by my guards," he advised, and somehow Izante could tell he was grinning. The darkened figures crept about, coming to halts on top of boulders and in other places surrounding the grass type, and she exhaled deeply, keeping an eye on each of them. She couldn't help but tremble.

"D-Director..." Izante gulped, "you need me?" She tried standing up straight and still, but couldn't help scanning the room for any signs of who she hoped but hoped not to spot.

"Of course," he replied, his calm tone more creepy than reassuring. "Come forward...to the lake."

Figuring she had no choice, the leafeon paced forward a number of steps forward before coming close to the water's edge. Once she arrived, she briefly gazed into its impossible depths, her uncertain and nervous reflection staring helplessly back at her. "A-am I..." she began, trailing off.

"...Yes?"

"Am...I here for punishment?"

The voice chuckled once again. "Not unless you want to be." Suddenly yellow eyes revealed themselves on a dry island against the back wall of the cave where there was a circular break in the water. It was an area large enough to hold more than ten leafeon, so the leader fit easily in the space. Shortly after the eyes brightened, illuminating the darkness around him, a body became dimly visible, and it was clear that a rather big pokémon sat staring at Izante. That was where the source of the voice was.

Izante looked uneasy, and she cleared her throat before rephrasing her question. "Master, what...why was I... What did you call me for?"

"The report, my young apprentice." The mysterious pokémon did not move, but his tail flickered, as if he was partially disappointed one of his best agents may have forgotten. "While on the Rocket vessel we discussed that you would provide me with a report on what happened." She nodded slowly, and as if to prompt her, the so called 'master' spoke again—this time more firmly. "The casualties, the survivors, the number of prisoners who escaped..."

Izante seemed to get the picture by this stage and tried to sound confident. "The—the casualties...were large. On a grand scale, we lost more than...they did." At this the pokémon tensed, but the leafeon quickly threw in, "But in all fairness, their numbers were ours tripled! Maybe more..." He relaxed slightly, but Izante still sensed his annoyance. "At a guess, we determined that...seventy-five percent of the prisoners made it out alive. The Rockets and their pokémon...only forty percent escaped without being killed...or less." The grass pokémon knew her leader would be glaring by this point, and she could certainly class that as fact as his lips curled into a snarl and he scratched his claws back and forth on the steel-hard rock below his paws. She hesitated to go on until he told her that she should continue. "Uhh...by the end of it, most Rockets had decided the fight was pointless because they knew they couldn't win, and at that stage all of...almost all of the prisoners had fled. Then me and Talyn left with a few Rocket minions on some fearows." She closed her eyes for a moment before finishing. "We were out of range when we witnessed the ship blow."

"Out of range when _what_?" boomed the leader, smearing disdain throughout his use of the sentence's last word. His eyes were suddenly steady with docked rage.

"U—um...uh... When—when it...blew up, Master," Izante confirmed, lowering herself with subtlety.

"_Blew up_?!" the Director exploded, his mood taking a hideous bend in the wrong direction.

The eevee evolution drew back in the instant, an immediate warning bell sounding in her head. She cowered and, in the midst of her fear, made the hasty decision to attempt to scramble away, but didn't get far. With one astounding leap driven by negative surprise and hatred for what he was hearing, the leader scaled the lake with no trouble. Izante's jaw would have come loose had it been able to, but instead it dropped to its possible extent. She was quick to close it as her eyes shook with sheer fear. It was almost as if her eyelids no longer existed as she watched her master with the widest eyes she could have produced.

"Explain to me," the pokémon demanded in a fierce, dangerous whisper, "how this _happened_!"

With a frightening super-pokémon literally in her face and hissing guards on the watch nearby, the grass type could hardly breathe, let alone talk. Her heart was pounding too fast for her to know it wasn't just a vibrating mess, and she could have sworn she was drenched in sweat and adrenaline. She let a breath ease out through her nose before drawing one back in at the same pace. "I-I-I-I d-don't...kn—"

"Do _NOT_ tell me you don't know!" he warned, spitting his words with clear ferocity.

"It—it must have been a pokémon who escaped! I swear on Talyn's life!" she cried. Her face muscles stressed her expression into that of desperation and emotional agony as her eyes kept themselves bound and her jaws interlocked. She forced them back open. "Please, I...I'd tell you if I knew..."

Several seconds passed while Izante stayed frozen in her cowering position, the dominant pokémon slowly edging away and returning to a normal seated pose, the contempt still printed on his face but otherwise he displayed a calm expression and stilled himself. "I believe you," he informed, but that didn't seem to mean much. At least, she thought, it meant that he wasn't going to express his anger her way.

Silence wavered in the air, circling through the leafeon's ears as she dared not to move. She had never seen the Director react so violently before, and she knew it was out of his general nature to snap so easily. Surely what happened didn't matter _too_ much. The Rockets who lived fled, but the ones who were dead or unconscious were left on the ship—who would probably have been useless after what they'd been through anyway. Other than that, all that was destroyed was... _'Oh,'_ the leafeon thought, her heart racing as she realised something: the only reason why her master would become so utterly infuriated.

Izante was distracted from her thoughts as the pokémon rose, a lengthy breath escaping his nostrils. He took a cluster of moments to regain his calm, and when he did, his head turned so the side of it was being watched by his follower. "...You are... You are free to go," he explained, making an odd noise to presumably tell his guards it was fine to allow the leafeon to leave. The Director strode forward, stopping as his ears picked up no sound of shuffling. "Leave, leafeon."

"Y-yes, Master," the pokémon obeyed, scuttling backwards. She turned around and hurried to the exit, repeating to herself silently that she was nearly out of there. However, she didn't get all the way before she was addressed again.

"Izante," she heard, and she cringed as she heaved her eyes back in his direction. "..._Who_...initiated the release of all the prisoner pokémon?"

Her heart sank. She hoped she didn't have to answer that question. "...Uhh... There're only...rumours—"

"Don't," he started, raising his voice to interrupt her, "stall." His eye glinted with calm amusement as he rotated his head, his body still facing away. "...I _know_...you know."

Vibrations skimmed her back again; she _hated _it when he pierced her eyes with the deadly spears in his. She swallowed hard, taking a breath. "The...the flareon," she admitted, feeling her ears droop. He seemed momentarily interested, obviously waiting for proper details. Izante contemplated her options before she gave a sigh.

"Say it," he hissed, a tiny smile present.

"It...it was..."

**ooo**

"Dusty!"

"Larse!" I bounded to the slowpoke surrounded by other colony pokémon who were just as pleased and excited to greet him as I was. "You made it!" I nudged his face as he radiated a gleeful smile.

"Yes, I did." He looked me up and down. "And so did you, I see."

"I sure did!" I felt my tail beat furiously from side to side before answering the question I knew he was dying to ask. "Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm here, it's 'cause I'm officially a temporary member of your colony!"

"Oh, are you? Good to hear," he replied, and I was about to continue the conversation as he was addressed by another pokémon who just arrived in the circle—an ursaring. _The _ursaring. The one that attacked me!

"Young one!" she shouted out of desperation, a small teddiursa following.

"Hello, Wynore. Good to s—"

"I need to know," she interrupted, and Larse seemed somewhat surprised she had done so. "Please, I need you to tell me something."

"Yes, of course. And...what is it?" he inquired.

The normal type looked deeply into his eyes, as if holding them still for her question. She had dropped to her knees and her paws rested awkwardly on his narrow shoulders. "...Lakane... Did you...did you see him? Was he...was he with you?"

Whoever 'Lakane' was, I was certain the ursaring had some connection to him.

"L...Lakane... Yes, I did. I was w—" he began, but again was spoken over.

"Is he alright?" she pressed, her emotion overcoming her. She was certainly more than just concerned.

"I...I was unconscious for the time I was carried off the ship, and only awoke when I touched the ocean. So...I don't know if he safely escaped the ship..." He looked down, unable to hold his gaze upon Wynore. Sympathy stroked my heart as I watched the female bear pokémon remove her paws and trace the dirt with her eyes. She slowly got to her feet, the sadness tugging at her face. The slowpoke mulled over a thought or two and became hopeful. "But the majority of us escaped healthily, so the chances of him being alive and well are high."

The tiny teddy pokémon beside her looked curiously at who I guessed was her mother and wore a curious expression, the crescent moon pattern on her forehead brightening under the sunlight. "Where's Daddy?" she questioned, and the ursaring just squeezed her eyes closed, clenching her jaws.

"I...I don't know," she answered, avoidant of the question. "He's...he's coming home later." She barely made eye contact with the cub before turning and leaving, the small normal type with a button-like nose following with one claw wedged between her lips. I watched as they pushed between more pokémon who stared at them with sympathetic gazes and turned away.

I felt my tail sag as I plonked my tush on the ground. That battle on the ship... It affected countless pokémon on the spot, but when I thought about families, friends, trainers, packs...it was awful. I felt as if a tauros had hurled himself at me, and I struggled to endure the impact. Just witnessing what happened to two pokémon was reason enough for me to not want to remember. And all those pokémon _I killed_? And the humans I...slaughtered... Was it all really worth it? Worth..._this_? All the pokémon currently surrounding me had been changed by this event. That ursaring...she may as well have lost a mate. And Larse? His parents were living proof that he was cared for deeply, as well as the rest of the colony.

I was delving too deeply into these thoughts as a voice brought me back to the spot I was standing. "Poor Wynore," one of the pokémon pitied—a bellossom. Her voice was swimming in sadness and remorse. "To think she might have lost someone so close to us..."

"So close to us all," the scyther spoke up, and my eyes wandered to meet his before I lowered my head. He rotated eyes, catching everyone's glance. "He is a good pokémon...and a great friend." A smile flickered across his face. "He will return. I think it's fair to say that we all know Luck well enough to say that he _will_ return!"

_I nearly gagged._

The oxygen was blocked from my nostrils. I flicked my head back up, my eyes seizing his. "_What_?!" I blurted. He seemed shocked that I had moved so suddenly, and more so that I had intervened so obnoxiously.

He gave me a bewildered frown and a cautious flicker of his confidence seemed to waver through his eyes. "...I said he was a great pokémon."

I was practically having a heart attack. It couldn't be him. Yet now that I assessed it, I was shocked almost to the extent of disgust at my failure to connect Luck with the female ursaring's mentioning of a mate before the scyther spoke. I blinked, his eyes still on mine. "Luck...as in...ursaring Luck?"

"Y-yes..." he mentioned, seemingly annoyed I had sounded so abrupt and impolite. The rest of the pokémon exchanged confused looks, some of the shrugging and some muttering, while I just stared ahead at nothing specific.

"Oh..._crap._"


	17. Chapter Seventeen: A Tour

**Chapter Seventeen: A Tour**

"Do you know him?" wondered a raticate. Her huge teeth were concealed inside her mouth as she eyed me curiously.

I stared into nothingness, looking at her, but...seeing straight through her. "...Yes," I stated after silence, unhappy and my displeasure on display. I clenched my teeth, both reluctant and disbelieving. This was going to break my heart.

I saw the scyther who was a tiny bit darker green than usual move from the corner of my eye, and it looked as if he was about to say something, but he stopped himself as another pokémon spoke up. "Where was he?" asked the bellossom, and I barely made an effort to look at her to reply.

"On...um... On—on a ship."

"Mummy..." began a rattata between the raticate who had spoken before and a male raticate, "what's a ship?" The female normal type glanced down at her young one, but she gave him a look of uncertainty and unknowing.

"The ship," began the scyther, Shard, "is a human transport." He caught the eyes of many pokémon, including mine, and seemed comfortable with it.

Having had time or...whatever I needed to assess his detail properly since I'd seen him, I almost gasped. I hadn't seen the left side of his body until I stared at it presently, scanning the many burn marks and faded scars that were scattered along his abdomen and thorax, as well as on his shoulder. It nearly shocked me; seeing such disturbing injuries made me think about what kind of fight he must have been involved in. It wasn't often that I saw pokémon with long-residing injuries, so it made me wonder how he got them.

"It is a place for storage and a human's way to carry whatever is being stored across a body of water." He stood tall and knowledgeable as he spoke, obviously knowing what he was talking about. But while he spoke, I tilted my head. If all these other pokémon didn't know, how come he did?

"Ooh. Why were you on that thing?" queried the heracross with a soft look, and I took a breath.

"...It was involuntary," I mentioned quietly. My mind wound back as I eyed the ground. "All the pokémon on that ship were captured."

A cluster of gasps rang throughout the group of pokémon, just as I had expected, and they exchanged concerned glances. Whispers floated between each of them, and I could hear scepticism trailing through some sentences.

"So you escaped," stated the altaria bluntly, raising an eyebrow. It was as if she didn't believe me.

I pierced her eyes with my serious expression. "_Yes_," I answered, a solid quality to my tone.

"Well...what happened?" questioned a rather surprised and seemingly impatient sunflora.

I turned to him, twisting my head to a titled position. But before I could reply (if I was going to), a familiar face materialised at the end of the crowd. I nearly relaxed when I noticed who it was. "Leave her be," she instructed, pokémon parting as she brushed along the path. "Upfront questions like this take time to be answered."

"Zhol," I whispered, grateful to be staring straight at her.

"Well, welcome back!" exclaimed a male raticate, scurrying forward and nodding as his eyes connected with that of the sneasel's. His friendliness was warming, but the chill of my knowledge was not to be overcome.

Zhol bobbed her head, muttering, "Thanks," and addressed me with her glance. I attempted a smile, but my muscles refused to be pulled, leaving my expression unchanged. The half dark type appeared before Habib, greeting the giant lickitung and his mate, who was beside Larse, with a curt bow. "We will give you a full report later."

"Okay," Habib agreed, looking less than expectant of the comment.

"Right now, Dusty needs some space." She flashed a smile at me as I sighed inwardly with relief.

"Wait... What about Luck?" asked the scyther with a stern expression. I had to wonder how close he was to my ursaring friend, because he seemed keen to find out about him.

"_Later_," persisted Zhol, her eyes widening as she said so. She tapped me with her hefty claws and signalled for me to follow her, and I rained one last look on the large group of pokémon gathered in front of me before turning and walking with the sneasel in the opposite direction.

"Th...thanks," I muttered, managing half a smile of appreciation. "It's hard...y' know?"

"Mm," nodded the sneasel understandingly, taking me past the end of a street of huts, the large lake and a home similarly built to one of the bidoof/bibarel's lodges that was half in the water and half on land. I didn't think much of it, as I was focused on Zhol.

"Where are we going?" I wondered, my ears folding back.

"I want to show you something," explained the sneasel, stepping from Usster soil and through the gates of the forest. I followed across the border and padded beside her, noting the thick rocky wall to my right that surrounded the north and west sides of the land. Since the wall didn't complete its half-lap around the premises, we were able to have just exited through the west.

We walked in silence for roughly a minute, the forest staying the same. Some things that stayed far from 'the same' were my thoughts. They whizzed, bounced and zipped around inside, prodding me and provoking the miserable feeling so abundant now that I was faced with a serious dilemma. Did _I_ have to be the one to reveal the truth to everyone? Was it _my_ burden to bear until dropping the bomb on everybody? And as unfair as it seemed, I reminded myself that there was nothing that seemed just in the past two or so weeks. It'd been one large boot up the backside.

"Dusty?" wondered Zhol, plucking me from my internal debate and placing me out in the open. I tuned in with a look. "I can listen...if you want me to."

I smiled on the inside. "...Thanks, Zhol." I was happy to see her smile back.

We proceeded forward, the calm but continuous pace repeating itself. I craned my neck at giant trees looming like guardians over their vast sanctuary, their limbs blocking paths but creating opportunities for homes and shelter at the same time. The flapping of wings sounded nearby, and my eyes followed a spearow who perched upon the edge of a nest in a forked branch. A worm dropped from her mouth and into the tiny beak belonging to one of her chicks.

Suddenly my mind leaped back in time to the spot near that tall birch tree Izante had so easily bounded up. I remembered her ability to spring so very high, and balancing on those branches was something no leafeon could easily accomplish. She'd never done such a thing before me prior to that one moment...and somehow it bugged me. And those bizarre words she'd uttered—the thing that she said right before she jumped up those branches...

"Like a rocket..." I snapped my head to Zhol. "Like a rocket; like _a_ _rocket_!" I babbled, capturing her gaze. Her eyes were as round as oran berries. "A rocket! You know... Rocket? _**Tea**__m_ Rocket? She was chanting!"

Zhol's eyebrows climbed up her face, her mouth a small triangle below her nose. Clearly she had no idea what I was talking about. She kept quiet until she realised I was going to keep my eyes fixed on hers.

"Look," I began, twirling around and leaping into a tree, thudding with a solid impact. With a groan I fell on my butt. "Ouch... That didn't work..." I spun 'round and weaved between tree trunks until I found one with branches somewhat close to the ground. I threw my glance over my shoulder to ensure Zhol was still in my space, and sure enough, she came to be behind me in moments. With a waggle of my tail-end and a spring in my step, I leapt, clambering clumsily onto a decently-sized branch. My front paws tried desperately to attain some form of grip as my back legs did the same, but they slipped uselessly. In the next heartbeat, I lay on my back, an upside down Zhol glaring with concern and perplexity. The shot of pain up my spine intensified as I rolled onto my paws again, standing up. "See?"

Her look was only magnified. "That you...fell?" she guessed.

"Exactly," I sighed, sitting in front of her. "Normal trainers don't train their pokémon in the art of tree climbing." I hooked my bottom lip around my teeth, taking a second to think. I shook my head repetitively. "...Do you know what this means?" The sneasel shook her head slowly. "It means that she learnt that from someone other than her master. Someone like Team Rocket." I wandered off in thought, Zhol trailing. "I bet Team Rocket has some sort of ability training the pokémon have to go through to make them stronger—otherwise there'd be no difference between them and ordinary trainer or wild pokémon." I searched my mind for more examples, stumbling across a single simple one. "It must be how that Mr. Mime held up that barrier and light screen attack for so long! And it was really strong!" I whirled around. "Remember? Back on the ship? Zhol?"

"Y-yes," she answered uncomfortably, and I could see that she was wondering where I was headed with all of this. "Dusty, what..."

I felt about to talk, but my teeth clicked together...and my jaws relaxed into a motionless state. I slumped my body against a tree, narrowly avoiding a splinter as I slid down to be seated. "She _is_ a Rocket pokémon... I know she is..." My stare was aimless until it locked onto a flake of bark half buried in the taupe soil.

I barely noticed as Zhol came down to my level in a crouch. "...Who?" she asked in a simple tone, her eyes fixed on me.

My eyes swivelled after waiting for the right moment. An expression contorted with misery and disappointment radiated from my face before finding the dark and ice type's gaze. "...Izante."

**ooo**

A series of wing-beats echoed around, two pairs of talons seeping into the ground with a _doomp_. A dark bird-like pokémon shook himself off, glancing about. The curved feather bunch on his head swayed as the wind blew through his grey and white tail feathers. His orange and brown beak pointed towards his company, his frustration clouding his face of jagged white. His smallish eyes of brown and charcoal surveyed the area, spotting a swaying leaf and a fallen log. The undergrowth was plentiful and constantly flew and settled shortly after. A pidgey on watch hopped into her nest, a mouse scuttled for shelter under an arch of thick bark, and other than that, a few crickets hummed in the near distance. A warm light latched onto the staravia's left wing from above and another breeze charged through to cause ruffling feathers. "Where on Earth are they?" huffed the flying type in a gruff voice. "They do understand we have other charges, I hope."

"I think they're new," commented the second pokémon, her tone much softer. However, an indifferent edge to it was present. "They should be here soon." She waddled with her coral-red legs to a branch a wing's stretch above her head, tilting her sepia neck. The feathers bordering the tops of her eyes and resting on her head, which were the same colour as her legs, hung more freely as they dangled due to their unusual angle, and a curled pink beak directed orange eyes to an empty home of bent twigs. "Pidgey," stated the flying type, a short-feathered bird pokémon showing herself after a moment of hesitation. She side-stepped from behind the cluster of leaves she was previously peeking through and bounced onto her nest's edge, puffing up protectively. "Have you seen a small group of pokémon pass through here?" she asked in a mellow manner. Her deep pink and yellow fan of a tail swayed gently while her yellow-tinted cream underside rose and fell subtly, all signs of a threat absent.

In seeing this, the flying type flattened her coat slightly and eyed the bird duo. After another session of analysis, the pidgey stepped into her nest and made herself comfortable. "Why, no. No, I have not."

"Damn it!" cursed the starling pokémon, pounding the air with his wings.

The startled pidgey retreated into herself suddenly, squeaking with unsureness.

"Stop it!" chirped the pidgeotto, her stern expression slicing into the staravia's behaviour and temporarily removing any trace of choleric attitude. She returned her glance to a member of her pre-evolutionary species. "Pay him no attention," she requested, noticing the pidgey had no positive reaction. "Thank you." She glided in the opposite direction, her partner following, and once they were no longer within earshot of the pidgey, the pidgeotto landed, whipping around to end up face to face with the male bird pokémon. "You fool!" she screeched. "What's the good of scaring off the locals when we're not supposed to bother them? He can't build a successful empire when no pokémon will want to oblige! If they all think like that pidgey, they will know him as irrational and frightening, and likely disagree with him!"

The staravia just snorted. "Let them cower! Who cares?"

"_He_ does," hissed the bird pokémon, her voice hushed and her watchful eye frantic as if she expected someone to leap at her and tear her to pieces.

"Hey, you," an ominous voice rang, giving the flying duo a start. They glanced about, unable to detect anything with their eyes. The pidgeotto swallowed, sensing something nearby but still seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

The staravia and his partner were not expecting a togepi to step out of thin air and appear before them. A malicious grin crept onto his face, and he hopped to the side as his illuminated red irises glowed with excitement. Next an ivysaur hobbled from where the egg pokémon came, his timid expression not fully confident. He shook off, loose leaves falling from his body. His gait formed into a limp, blood creeping from where one of his claws was attached on his hind leg.

The last to become visible was a Mr. Mime, who side-stepped from behind his seemingly invisible wall. The navy blue hair sprouting from either side of his head was frayed and messy, and his glove-like hands were stained with brown and maroon. "Are you the messengers?" he questioned, a creepy tint to his tone.

"Y-yes," confirmed the pidgeotto, her partner a bit too shocked to reply. "Wh—what's your position?"

"Standing," the togepi answered amusedly.

The staravia gathered himself and sneered with narrowed eyes at the small cream pokémon. "Get serious and cut the games."

"That's my job," the Mr. Mime intervened, a neutral look about his face. "We're in pursuit." He looked down at the two pokémon beside him. "How far do you think, boys?"

"Um," began the grass type, "three days...behind? I think?" he guessed, and received a generous nod of approval from the Mr. Mime. The dark-coloured bird pokémon didn't look as impressed.

"Can you give a _precise_ answer?" he growled, exhaling impatiently. But when the green pokémon didn't say anything, he added, "Well? Ivysaur?"

"...M...my name—"

"No-one cares about your name in this biz, kid," the grouch of a pokémon informed. "Now, can you give me an accurate position or not?"

"You could use a smile or two once in a while," interrupted the tall white and pink pokémon, something off about his general vibe.

The staravia was moderately confused at the remark and merely drew his head back in slight disgust. "...What?" he mumbled to his partner, and she shrugged, clearly unfazed by it.

The ivysaur glanced helplessly to the pidgeotto and then back to the barrier pokémon beside him. "Th...three days," he decided on his own. "If...if we hurry, we can catch up soon."

"Good," the female flying type nodded, extending a wing out in front of her colleague. "We will report back to headquarters with your status." She made a head gesture before taking to the skies with the staravia, their multicoloured tails soaring with the wind as they used the current to their advantage.

"...Messengers are so stupid," commented the foot-tall normal type. He chuckled and took a seat to rest his sore feet.

"Funny," grinned the Mr. Mime toothily, his creepy gaze meeting that of the togepi's, "I've never liked them either."

The togepi smirked, rolling backwards and into a stalk strong enough to prop him up. "At least we'll get what we came for soon." He gave an open yawn. "I'm looking forward to it."

**ooo**

I had barely talked for a few minutes before a call echoed, a name bouncing between tree trunks. "Zhol!" We both flung ourselves up and waited until a tall figure invaded my vision. "You need to—"

As if having forgotten Zhol had walked off with me about five minutes before, the scyther shot understated daggers into my eyes. "Ouch," I mumbled to myself, surprised with how harsh this pokémon was. He was probably suspicious of me, though, because I was new and unknown. I experienced a moment of reasoning before shrugging.

"Habib would like to see you," he continued, keeping his scythes suspended at his waist. I hadn't seen scyther very often, so I wasn't sure where they normally held their sword-like arms, but where they were on this dude sure did look defensive to me.

The sneasel turned to me, tilting her head. "Yeah, I'll come," I decided, and she perked up before striding in the direction of the colony. I noticed Shard hesitate a moment longer before zipping in front. With a sidewards mouth, I pulled myself towards Zhol and followed her through the bracken. "Does this mean you won't get to show me whatever it was you...wanted to show me?"

"It's fine," she replied quickly. "I'll show you to it later."

Within no time we were back at the entrance to the colony's grounds, and I waited a few minutes as Zhol vanished through the near doorway of Habib's home. I had been unsure whether or not I really wanted to re-enter the colony's land. _'I have nothing else to do and nowhere else to go,'_ I admitted to myself hopelessly, knowing that initiating a search for my trainer at this point was useless for multiple reasons. But another Luck question and I decided that I'd disappear again. I just don't know how I would take it. It was _so_ _tough_ to lose a friend. And even tougher to have to break the news to a bunch of pokémon who were closely acquainted with the same pokémon, and who, on top of that, knew him for a much broader duration of time... It was bad enough watching him fall to the deathly depths below the ship's edge, and having to retell the information to someone who would react in a manner similar to how I reacted just made it so unfair. I knew it was my responsibility to reveal the horrible news. I just didn't _want_ it to be.

"Flareon!" demanded a somewhat gravelly but annoyingly-pitched voice. My gaze presented me with a stout pokémon whose head was masked nearly entirely by a skull. The object he clutched within his paw that was directed in a straight line right at me was also a bone, and I began to wonder _how_ cubone get to obtain their precious external body parts. "Come here." I didn't fancy taking orders from a little squirt such as himself, and what bugged me even more was the fact that he seemed to believe he had disturbingly high authority. I trotted reluctantly in his direction, the only real reason I obeyed being that Zhol took her place beside him as they conversed, and when I arrived, I snatched their last few words about some sort of 'tour'. "Hi, Zhol." I turned to the cubone only when he cleared his throat. "Oh..._hi_."

"Yes, greetings," he hastily muttered, completely uninterested in me. I wasn't fazed though. Not like I cared who he was.

"Dusty," Zhol began, and my attention was completely drawn to her.

"_Yes_, Zhol?" I responded overenthusiastically, nearing her suddenly. "My very helpful friend who I value greatly—what is it you want to inquire? A request? Would you like to...inform me of something?" I spun around, and for no reason twirled, turning back. "Enlighten me with your words oh-so-wise, friend! My ears welcome your words."

The sneasel's face was clouded with nothing but bewilderment as she stared, and the cubone just eyed me with disgust mingled with confusion. Silence increased our distance and began playing with my fur until I sighed and sent it scurrying off.

"Yes, I'm that strange. Anyway," I continued, adjusting my tongue and sweeping the ground with my tail. "You were saying?"

"U-uhh..." Zhol glanced to her left at the cubone, then back to me. "Habib thinks that a tour would be a good idea for you," she explained, and I nodded understandingly. A tour sounded good to me!

"Alright." I took a breath, a smile crossing my face. "Okay! So where are you taking me first?" I inquired.

The two pokémon exchanged a silent sentence during their little eye contact session which I was completely excluded from, and before I could say anything, Zhol cleared her throat, her gaze choosing the ground before me. "Well...to get you accustomed to living with the other residents of the colony, he thought that...someone else could take you."

"Cupborn, you can call me," the cubone insisted deliberately, "and I will be your guide."

The awkward silence slipped between us once again, blushing and looking in the opposite direction so it, too, didn't have to look the odd pause in the face. Our eyes flicked to one another, and I hardly knew what to think. I was just waiting for that convenient tumbleweed to roll right on by and trip up on a rock or two.

"This...is Dusty," Zhol stated, holding out a paw in my direction.

"Zhol!" called the scyther suddenly from Habib's home—which rested nearby.

"Coming," the sneasel replied with less volume than the oversized bug had, and I blinked several times, finally realising she wouldn't be accompanying me.

"W-wait! Zhol, where're you going?"

"I've got to hunt with Shardclaw," she informed, and my expression turned into a bitter sneer. She _had_ to leave. Right now. I wasn't exactly in the _best_ mood, having just talked about my best friend who, only days ago, betrayed me, and having just found out that I would be shown around my new home by a haughty ground type. He _had_ to be a ground type!

"Come on, flareon," pushed the marowak pre-evolution, but I snorted at him.

"Zhol! They shouldn't expect you to hunt when you only just got back!"

"Well, they do," the dark and ice type answered, shrugging. She turned to leave, but stopped herself in time to draw her face close to mine. With a slightly pleading but amused look, she added, "And, Dusty... Play nice," before she left in a blur that was no more than a dark figure zipping across the dirt.

"Was that supposed to be advice?" I asked myself, chuckling through my nose.

"Flareon!" snapped the small, brown pokémon.

"What?!" I snapped right back.

He narrowed his eyes and drew backwards. "We don't have all _day_," he growled.

"Thanks for the info," I remarked with sarcasm that evidently stung. I trotted past him, watching as what I could see of his face grew a reddish tinge. It made me smirk.

"Immature fire type," Cupborn uttered under his breath—but clearly too loudly.

"Over-confident cubone," I retorted. Boy, it felt good to play his game.

"Shut up and follow me." The agitated pokémon marched past me, and I rolled my eyes as I trailed.

My head hung as my tuft masked part of my face. My shoulders protruded with every step that pressed my paws against the ground, my tail hanging feebly. I wore embarrassment on my forehead as I passed a sunflora carrying hay walking ahead of one of the raticate who spoke to me earlier. Although the rat-like pokémon nodded as a friendly gesture, I could only wince half-heartedly in return and hope it looked somewhat comfortable.

"Greech; Hyso," my tour guide named clearly (in the order I saw them, I imagine). He led me down and in the direction of that lake I avoided before, but he turned so the water was behind us. As I padded, I glanced ahead, noticing a vast plain where the pokémon had gathered to greet Larse. The fruit shed where I had crashed and woken up in not long ago was across the other side, near many trees. However, before we came near it, Cupborn halted abruptly and faced me. "This is the Den Row."

After scowling as I nearly thudded into him, I threw my glance down the wide path to my left that bore assorted pokémon all with assorted intentions. There were only about five, but they were almost all of a different species. To both sides of the path were homes of different sizes and builds. Some resembled ones I saw back at the bibarel colony, and others looked totally different. I imagined that they were built with the type of the pokémon whose home it was in mind. For instance, normal and flying types would probably need more insulation than ice or fire types when it came to the cold; fire, rock and ground pokémon would have thicker rooves in case of rain, and so on. But I hadn't ever seen a colony like this one which actually had houses. They greatly reminded me of human houses, although much less refined, and I'd always thought most wild pokémon (or from what I'd seen, anyway) would live in simple dens, hollows or nests. Turned out I was wrong.

He pointed out that to our right was the home belonging to Hyso and his family, and the one that started further up but on the left was where Greech and his family lived. Back to the right side again, nearly in line with Greech and his family's house, was apparently a home which 'Rentana' and 'Etire' occupied...whoever they were. As we went on, he pointed out his house, and houses belonging to other assorted pokémon with random names.

I tuned out as I marvelled at the largest house of them all...which didn't look much like a house. On 'Den Row,' I counted five homes in total running up the left side, and behind the two furthest away lay a rather big building. It appeared to have the strongest tree trunks and slabs of stone sewn into the walls, and by the looks of the outside, it had no windows...or entrances. Its west and north walls were not built, as they were instead the thick rock that bordered the west and north ends of the colony's land. Once the left and right sides of the houses met at the end of the path where two connected dens sat, that was as far as the homes reached. Behind the connected dens was that stretching rock that continued off to the side, past a dense patch of trees which separated about a third of the colony's land from the rest of it. I was in the larger part, from what I'd glimpsed, and the side containing the busiest pokémon and structures.

"Zhol," he pointed out once we'd ventured to the end of the path. The homes this far up surrounded a small waterhole that stretched to my left, under someone's hut, and onward under the huge building I had noticed before, the one with no windows. Zhol's was one up from the house with the trail of water snaking underneath, and to the right of it, my right, was the direction Cupborn pointed his bone. "Aemara, her clinic, Tarla." He began going down the right side now, mentioning who lived in the three homes before he would have repeated to tell me where 'Renta'...or something...and Et...something lived—an early house mentioned on the tour.

"Uh-huh." I blurted flatly. I threw him a look with my eyelids at half-mast. "You know I'm not gonna remember all this, or _any _of this, right?"

"Follow me through here," he demanded without so much as a grunt in reply beforehand.

We walked back around the waterhole to brush between two homes on the right strip, leaving the large half of the land behind, and excused ourselves past some random trees, walking alongside the north rock bordering the territory and heading east, before edging the start of a sort of long grove of trees. They stretched on behind the right side of houses and then dipped in and stood guard at the entrance side of the fruit shack. Not that all this was important or anything. We avoided the trees, coming closer to the bordering rocky wall, but in front of it sat another two homes. One had been slightly out of my general line of sight where we had been standing previously (next to the waterhole), so I was almost surprised to see that, but the bigger one, which popped up right as we left the waterhole, was totally visible the whole time.

The cubone released three names, and then moved on to the one next door (with its entrance dipped into the trees). "This hut belongs to Yukra and Mosst," he told me, as if expecting me to know who those pokémon were, and suddenly break out with an acknowledging noise which would tell him I just recalled their entire pasts and could present them to him on a silver platter.

'_This guy is unbelievable,'_ I thought with a sour twist, huffing inwardly. But I went over the name, remembering that the heracross had been called 'Yukra' when he opened Habib's door for him. "Ohh," I muttered, a certain acknowledging tone to it. I then paused. _'Huh. This guy's good,'_ I thought with a laugh.

We rounded the back of the house, and I tried to walk on my hind paws in order to see through a dislodged part of a log. I had no luck, my front paws thudding onto the earth. "Stupid...inconvenient...incapacitated...legs!" After passing the short side of the long stream of forest material, another site scurried into view. A rather...long and unexpected one.

A playground. A log that was propped onto a specially-carved stump creaked endlessly as a duo of pokémon – one on each end – weighed down one side at a time. As I was led towards it, I spotted mankey bars made from strong branches and tied together with what looked like rope, and other climbing structures of similar materials. A section of the playground was fenced off to hold a smallish pool barely my height in depth, and in a corner at the other end was a pit containing gritty sand.

Other features were incorporated into the long space in the land, but I became side-tracked as a large figure emerged from the home that resided a few metres from the long side of the playground (the one that didn't have the random tree expanse behind it). "This den belongs to Wynore, Bibi and Luck," explained the cubone up-front, and I flinched, a spike tearing through my stomach and twisting three times. I then identified the newly-appeared figure, and I couldn't help but tense up for more than one reason upon seeing the apparent ursaring invade my line of sight. I hesitated in following Cupborn as he neared and looked about to greet her. "Come on, flareon!"

"_Dusty_," I replied bitterly, keeping my head low and my body alert as I padded up by his side.

The female ursaring eyed me warily as I did the same, but our staring contest was interrupted. "Wynore, Flar—"

"Dusty!"

"...Wynore," he restated, glaring at me. "She runs the kindergarten. Or, more respectively, daycare."

_'They have a daycare here?'_ I wondered, not expecting something like that. "H...hi."

"We have met," Wynore uttered to Cupborn, taking her eyes from mine. "Nice...to meet you," she admitted awkwardly.

"Yeah...you too," I replied, discomfort wagging its tail in my face.

"Wynore!" someone from inside the house called, and soon a dirty-cream coloured slender pokémon loped from the entrance and landed behind the ursaring. "...Oh." Her gaze touched on my face before fixing itself on the cubone beside me. "Company!" she sung, her bright blue eyes a nice change of atmosphere.

"I'm Dusty," I introduced, wearing a smile while hoping she'd reflect it. However, there was nothing to hope for as I realised she already was.

The brown-striped pokémon sat down on her hind legs, her form becoming much taller and still as sleek. Her front leg with two noticeable claws on it came up to rest on her front as she said, "That is a lovely name. Mine is Mynk."

"Tha—" Suddenly I noticed something—something I should have picked up on the moment she bounded from the shack. Her head was uneven. And in saying that, I meant...she only had one ear. The left one was less than a stump. It was as if something had sliced through its base and left not a trace of one ever being there...except for the minimally exposed but completely healed skin with a thin layer of fur covering it. By the looks of it, it had happened a long time ago. So, not focusing my energy on something so distracting, my eyes returned to hers. "That's a...nice...name too."

"Thank you." She swivelled her head and addressed the other normal type, and I drew a sigh. She hadn't noticed I had been staring at her missing ear. If one of mine was gone, I'd hate to have others watch it intently too, as if they were trying to work out the mystery behind it when I could so easily just tell them.

"Moving on," the cubone began, plodding back in the direction we came.

"Oh, see you, Cubbs!" Mynk began waving a paw, the ground type freezing on the spot and whirling around immediately.

"Cubbs?!" he spat, hardly believing what he heard. "Where did you hear that stupid nickname?" he demanded, marching forward several paces to meet the linoone's nose. "Tell me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry..." she apologised, her tone shrinking in volume. "I wasn't aware that—"

"Just tell me why you called me that," he growled, clenching his bone tighter.

"Hey, would you calm down?" I requested, squeezing between the two pokémon. "She was just having a play around."

"I don't have time for playing around," snapped the clearly-grumpy tour guide. He almost stabbed his eyes back into Mynk's before I intervened once more.

"Give 'er some space! Sheesh!"

"Dusty." I was quick to meet her. "...It's...it's okay," the normal type reassured, and I cocked my head. It was? "Yukra and I were discussing everybody's roles, and—"

"Yukra?!" exclaimed the marowak pre-evolution, resentment flooding his tone. I nearly chuckled.

Without warning, the adorable, innocent little teddiursa I had seen not long ago peered at us from inside the doorway of the permanently split-up family's house, her tiny paws gripping the wood. "Mummy?"

"C-coming, Bibi," Wynore stated, barely excusing herself before she swept up her child and disappeared inside the home. In the meantime, Cupborn was seething as he stomped back and forth, muttering indecipherable words under his breath as he apparently forgot about my tour.

"Cubbs...'ey?" I whispered amusedly into, embarrassingly, the non-ear-holding side of Mynk's noggin. I heard her blow a chuckle through her nostrils as she shrunk to my height.

"...I guess he doesn't take unauthorised nicknames well," she theorised, and I nodded.

"I gathered that too!" I exclaimed, meaning to sound silly.

"Mummy!" The sound of a small pokémon yelping caught my attention, and I rotated my head into the direction it came from. A tiny asparagus coloured head appeared behind two of many beams of wood: the fence around the daycare. Small paws rested on the bottom railing, which was waist-height for the pokémon.

"Oh, excuse me," the linoone quickly uttered, loping to the fence with needless effort. She peered over it once on her hind legs, resting her forelegs on to top beam. The small pokémon below her stared up with red triangle eyes, black marks coming to a point right below them. A long sort of spike with a red tip was planted on the creature's head, and a maroon belly held horizontal lines. Stubby arms reached pleadingly at Mynk's looming form, and the normal type dipped her head for it to be held in the green pokémon's embrace.

"..._'Mummy'_?" I whispered disbelievingly, rather perplexed. Mynk was the evolutionary species of a zigzagoon. And a larvitar was claiming to be her daughter? "Is that even possible?" I wondered in an awkward giggle. My gaze jumped about restlessly as I searched for somewhere to look, and Cupborn happened to fall into my sight. However, he was...leaving. For some odd reason, the cubone was waddling with stiff arms around the trees, slowly becoming smaller as he gained more distance. "C-Cupborn!" I yelled, taking a step forward with my left leg. He continued stomping for about a metre more before turning and causing me to dodge the spears his enraged eyes spat. I shook off, opening my mouth again. "Where are you going? Aren't we gonna finish—"

"There's nothing else I need to show you!" boomed the cubone, and I was taken slightly aback. He then whipped himself around and disappeared behind the trees.

"...Fine," I mumbled, trotting over to Mynk. At least she was showing some manners.

"Dusty," she said after noticing me. I stopped and responded. "Can you please watch the pokémon for a moment? I need to get something; I'll only be a minute!"

A frown stroked my face and ran off, and I blinked a few times in a row. "Uh...o...kay?"

"Thank you," she mentioned, placing a paw on my shoulder before dashing into the vegetation collection.

I faced the long, rectangle playground, flashing a glance up and down it. At least twelve or so pokémon frolicked about, throwing things, racing, climbing, blabbering, rolling, digging, swimming, gliding and wearing grins that should by all rights not fit on their faces. Some sat in groups and others sat in pairs or by themselves. I caught sight of a lone scrawny charmander placed in a corner to my right where the grass grew tall. Surprisingly her tail flame avoided all contact with any plantation, but at the same time, it seemed unlikely anyway considering how dimly it burned. Her face was almost expressionless. Dare I say, it was..._hollow_. As if all positive emotion had been drained and stored in some hole mountains away. She stared at the dirt in a small mound before her body, her paws occasionally touching it and then recoiling, her eyes twitching as she did so. Her belly barely seemed to move, and a number of times I thought her oxygen flow had ceased. She also looked pale and unresponsive, especially as other pokémon rushed by her before prancing to the other end, where most of the toddlers played. I couldn't take my eyes off her though... She was so...dull, so devoid of spirit; devoid of _life_.

I became distracted as rustling sounded and a pale figure emerged from the elongated grove, her slim body darting up to the fence beside me again. "I'm back!" Mynk announced, a half squashed fruit dropping from her mouth and into her upturned paw. She attempted to keep it balanced as she held it over the larvitar's head. It fell unintentionally from the hopeless surface, and it splattered onto the ground in a heap. However, it wasn't damaged more than it was in the first place, so the rock and ground type drew up the fruit and began nibbling on it.

"Welcome back," I replied unenthusiastically and just a little too late. I cringed as I couldn't help but focus back onto the fire type sitting so woefully on her own...

The linoone must have jumped on my train of thought as she followed where I directed my eyes. "...That's Libbi." I detected traces of sorrow and remorse flowing throughout Mynk's words as she spoke, and I felt the exact same way. "She's...a troubled pokémon. She, uh...doesn't like to play with the other pokémon."

"But...why?"

"She doesn't let herself get close to anyone..."

"What's..." I had to search for the right words before coming up with what I could find. "What's wrong with her?"

Mynk shifted uncomfortably, glazing her tongue over her bottom lip. "She...she suffered a...very serious trauma only a number of months ago. As a result...she's withdrawn and depressed."

"Wow... But she's so..._young_."

"Yes..." I watched as the pokémon's head lifted. "She was brought here by her guardian, a squirtle. The squirtle – Palue – explained to us what had happened to her." Her head tilted, and soon she was eying the ground. And when she said nothing more, I gave the situation a small push, hoping to hear more.

"...Well...what happened?"

"Um..." began the normal type, meeting me again. "Her brother...drowned in a river right before her eyes."

Suddenly a rush of needles tingled down my spine and through my legs, as if a gust of wind had just struck my insides. I swallowed my saliva. "W...what? He drowned?"

Mynk's eyes squeezed tears, and they crept down her face as she tried to smile in the presence of her deemed child. "Yes."

"Crap," I breathed, my gaze fitting itself back to the space Libbi was huddled in. "The poor child." My mind turned as I pictured several things: Luck and Roarake separately falling before they broke the ocean's surface; my body in the clutches of a controlled armaldo, my lungs desperate for air; the leap of faith from the ship's edge; coming close to tumbling off that cliff back at the bibarel colony... And finally, a helpless charmander child flailing wildly at the mercy of a ruthless river... I could only prey that he had become unconscious before he inhaled enough water to do the final deed...

"Mummy...you're crying!" pointed out the larvitar, presenting a curious look as an outstretched paw fit between two beams and touched the linoone's coat.

Mynk brought the back of a paw to her eyes and cleared them of the salty liquid. "It's...it's nothing, dear," she lied, but I didn't blame her. Had the small child understood what had been said, well...that would have been beyond awful.

I waited a moment before changing the subject, glancing at the larvitar still finishing off the berry. "So, uhh..." I shook my head, attempting to rid it of awful imagery and certain recent thoughts. "You and that larvitar..."

"Me!" cheered the adorable dual type with eyes full of glorious potential.

"Yes, you," I giggled, turning back to Mynk. "Is she your...actual...?"

"Oh, n-no. Certainly not," Mynk laughed, the sadness still raking her voice. She probably knew the larvitar wouldn't have picked up on what I was getting at, so she seemed fine to talk about it in front of her. However, she rotated her body so she wasn't talking in her child's direction. "More than a year ago, a few Usster members were investigating a matter in the mountains," she began, signalling to a snowy peak not far off. "In one of the more rocky areas...one of my friends found an egg leaning against a boulder. The group brought it back here, and I nursed it until it hatched..." She fit a paw through a gap in the railing, and then stroked the small pupitar pre-evolution's head. A flicker of a soft smile flashed across the linoone's face before disappearing. "I couldn't take my eyes off her," she reminisced, a sparkling light dancing between her marble-like eyes, "so I did the only thing I was thinking of at the time. I adopted her."

"Oh," I responded, thinking that made sense. "But...how could you be sure she didn't have a mother?"

"Well...we can't be sure," the normal type answered. "...I always wondered why she was abandoned. And so recently, too."

"Wait...what do you mean?"

"Miraculously...the egg was warm when they found her. But there was nobody around who could have owned her. They even waited some minutes to ensure they wouldn't be unintentionally abducting her, but they knew they couldn't wait too long at risk of letting the egg cool in the frigid climate."

"Really?" I questioned, finding that convenient but...odd. "That _is_ weird."

"It was a major relief," she corrected, her brow sinking to create a worried look. "If they had found her cold, then...well, th-then..."

"But it wasn't," I pressed, dipping my head to catch Mynk's gaze.

We both said nothing as she gave a meek smile, nodding. "...It wasn't."

**ooo**

Mynk and I had left the kids with Wynore in charge after asking her to. She had accepted with haste, barely making eye contact and not bothering to share a proper conversation with me or my new linoone friend. After that, Mynk had led me around the other end of the long rows of trees, and we were in the midst of passing the fruit shack when she spoke up.

"She isn't normally like that..." she explained, and I cocked my head, about to ask who. "Wynore...she's not usually like that. At least, not when Lakane's around." At the mention of the ursaring, something pinched me and I flinched inwardly. "The poor thing... When he returns, she will be back to her normal self again, though," she reasoned, and again came the source-less pain.

"Y-yeah..." I moaned quietly, feeling completely out of my comfort zone.

"Lakane is Wynore's mate," she continued, "but most of us call him Luck."

"I-I know..." I felt my ears bend as we padded on. The secret was _killing _me. I didn't know how much longer I could keep it to myself. I didn't _want_ to keep it to myself, but more than that, I didn't want to tell anyone else... Wynore would be this way forever, and their teddiursa would be permanently fatherless.

"Oh? You do?"

"Y-yes... I was on...I was with him when he...when he..." I held back my breathing, unable to complete my sentence.

"When he...disappeared?" asked the linoone.

"Uhh...yeah."

"Really? I have never seen your face around these parts before," she mused, looking as if she was searching her mind for memories or some clue as to how that made sense.

"We...knew each other...from places..." I stuttered, unsure of how to put it. She thought I meant when he vanished from the colony's grounds, and I meant...when he disappeared into the waves and from the Earth's face.

"Oh."

"Look, I'll—I'll fill you all in later," I offered, turning away and looking up ahead at the nearing homes.

"Alright," agreed Mynk, completely satisfied. She didn't seem inclined in any way to probe me for answers, which suited me fine! "How long are you staying for?"

"Me? Oh... Well...I was offered a place here for as long as I like, I think..."

"Oh! So you aren't a visitor?"

"N-no. At least, I don't think so!" I chuckled, trying to remember exactly what Habib had told me.

"Splendid!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "While you're here, I can introduce you to the pokémon that live here."

I nodded half-heartedly. "Sounds good." And we said not another word to each other before we reached the first house on the right. I remembered who lived there: the raticate and his family.

"A family of raticate live here with their baby rattata," mentioned Mynk, and I nodded. "Although, I imagine only Gigin is home right now. Taka was one of the rattata at the daycare, and Hyso is probably out hunting."

'_Hunting?'_ I though with confusion. "But...aren't raticate herbivores?"

Mynk shook her head decisively. "No, they are omnivores."

"Oh...really? All my life I thought they only ate seeds and vegetables." I shrugged, figuring it was insignificant anyway.

"Haha, no. They enjoy both, as I imagine you would."

"Yes..." I shifted my eyes on purpose. "I'm a real veggie lover."

I smiled as Mynk giggled at my humour, and we entered the home leisurely. As we appeared in a large room, I glanced about. It was unlike what I expected: a large batch of hay that needed replacing lay piled to create a bed in the far right corner, and surprisingly, a human soft-toy lay outstretched in the middle. At some point in the left wall was a square space that held thick rocks with several small, unscathed logs. A removable log could be seen above it, where the ceiling was in the compartment, and I guessed that that was a section where the smoke would be let out through.

There were a few other things that barely interested me, and I payed no attention to them as a bronze figure stepped out from behind a wooden table (which was basically a slab of wood with stumps at all corners). She displayed a toothy grin after a wary expression once she noticed Mynk. "Hello, old friend," she greeted, scampering on all fours up to us. "And...who are you?" She returned to her hind legs, sitting upright.

"This is Dusty," the linoone answered for me, and to that Gigin bobbed her head.

"Hi," I said with deliberate politeness; I was about to take a seat but changed my mind.

She nodded in return, her long tail sitting flat on the minimally padded floor.

"Dusty will be staying with us for a while," Mynk mentioned, "so I thought I'd show her about." She appeared happy, and then added, "And you're first."

"Well," Gigin chuckled, "good to have you." Next she invited us to come in properly and take a seat, and I did so, habitually curling my tail around one side of me.

As the two normal types began chatting, I glanced around the room, focusing on random things. I fiddled with my toes and must have looked cross-eyed as I watched my tuft, folding my brow over my eyes with amusement.

I hardly heard footsteps before I turned around to spot a body in the doorway. Two appendages hung from its head, and its blue body...be-became...visible... "Gigin, I got that hay you—"

The pokémon froze in the instant she saw me, and our expressions were the same as we stared intently. The small hessian sack in her mouth dropped, and she didn't even flinch as it dropped to the floor. All else was erased from my sight as I kept my eyes in place. I heard the chatter cease, and the only sound became silence. I dared to breathe.

"..._Azure_?"


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Expedition Challenge

**Chapter Eighteen: Expedition Challenge**

The whisper of her name was nearly silent, and I doubt anybody else heard.

She was speechless as she slowly bent down to find the opening of the sack with her mouth, her eyes staying fixed, and for one reason or another drew her neck back up. Her ears remained erect, mimicking mine, and we both continued our stare down.

"Dusty?" wondered Mynk, concern in her voice.

"Azure?" Gigin asked in much the same way, hopping forward to be level with me. When the eeveelution didn't reply, the normal type lowered the front half of her body to catch Azure's gaze.

The glaceon gave an acknowledging nod, keeping her gaze on me, and warily reached down to the sack. Her jaws separated and she took the opening in her mouth, tensing it to support the bag's (light) weight. She then padded cautiously into the open room and placed the sack at one of the table's legs, then backed up.

"Excuse me, girls," Gigin began, trying to break our silent surprise. "Would you like something to drink?"

I didn't remove my stare, but my mind went over a few things. "...Yeah, I would." My tongue could do with the moistening.

"I'll, uh...get the water," offered the linoone, and she crept behind Azure after taking a bucket between her teeth and was out the door in a few moments. I knew she had become uncomfortable with the situation, and, well...I didn't blame her.

Clinking and clanking sounded as Gigin must have been searching for something in the long gap in the wall along the bottom where I saw things stored not long before. I heard her scoff and sigh, and she waited a few seconds before popping up, and from the corner of my eye I saw her crawl forward until she stood up between us. "I will also be back," she stated, and finished her crawl along the floor before disappearing through the exit.

We kept our eyes still. But her image was beginning to bore me, and I realised that using my eyes for communication wouldn't get me the appropriate answers I sought. _'But then again, what are the answers I want?'_ I asked myself, filtering out two or three. I thought I'd begin with a simple one.

"What are you doing here?" we both questioned simultaneously. Then we blinked. I narrowed my eyes as if unable to believe that we had done that. Quickly I decided to tell her before she could sneak in another sentence.

"I'm living with this colony," I answered blatantly. Had it been anyone else and I'm sure I would have replaced 'living' with something a little less intrusive.

"I..._live_ with this colony," Azure stated, and I drew my head back.

"Wh-_what_?" I must have been hearing things wrong. How could she live in the same colony I was invited to stay with? It was just...ludicrous!

"I said that I live here," she repeated, and I rolled my eyes.

"I _heard_ you, I just..." I turned away, figuring this had to be true. One chance at peace and it was suddenly foiled.

"Dusty," she started, and I was surprised: it was the first time that I remember her calling me by my name. I answered with a flick of my head, and the expected complaining or rant was not what came out of her mouth next. "Back at the bibarel colony..." She held back contempt, and instead forced a calm expression to convince me of her words. "I meant to thank you."

All of a sudden Hell froze over. Just like that. I blinked in succession, a bemused expression prodding my face. "Th-thank...me?" I mocked, hardly believing it when it came from my own mouth. Why on Earth would Azure want to _thank_ me?

"...Yes," she confessed, and I was rather impressed. It seemed she did understand the term 'manners' after all!

Rustling and pawsteps sounded as a duo of pokémon entered again, Mynk second, and the raticate held two bowls carved from some kind of glazed wood. She proceeded to place one under my nose and the other onto the tabletop. Mynk used her paws to angle the bucket while still holding the thin metal handle in her maw and released the water; it splashed clumsily all over my paws, and I made strange noises while shaking them off. The zigzagoon evolution apologised through gritted teeth and sincere eyes, and placed the bucket at a table stump.

"Ahh, doesn't matter," I murmured with a flat mouth.

My gaze flashed back to Azure to find her already staring at me, and Mynk must have noticed as she stepped in front of me and kept herself supported on her hind legs. "Perhaps we should...go to the next house?"

"Good idea," input Gigin, and she gave the nod of her head before Mynk turned to Azure and nodded hers.

"We will be seeing you." Mynk turned and padded on all-fours to the exit. She swivelled her head around, as if to ask if I was behind her, and I hesitated before meeting her tail. I gave one last look to Azure before we were captured by the sunlight bathing the village in its endearing warmth. With a turn of her head, Mynk's eyes fell onto mine. "It...seemed like you knew Azure," she mentioned with concern.

I breathed a sigh. "Yep-ah." I flung my head back in front of me. "We've..._met_." The linoone appeared content with the answer – or if she wasn't she didn't show it – and we continued up the 'street'. However, feeling like I barely bothered to answer her question, I sighed. "You know how she's been gone for...a while?"

"...Yes."

"Well... I met her sometime during then." I watched as Mynk's face formed an incomprehensive expression. "She was captured...and I was too."

I hardly got the response I expected when she stayed silent. I prodded her face with my eyes for a further explanation. "No, that can't be."

For the brief bundle of minutes I'd known this pokémon, of all things I hadn't expected her to doubt me. "...Wadda ya mean?"

Realising her unwelcome appearance, Mynk softened her tone. "You see, Azure wasn't gone for as long as Luck...or Larse...or Zhol. She said she went to visit someone, and we imagined she happened to find Larse on her journey home."

I stopped. _'Happened to?'_ A question nearly slipped between my teeth before another one fell through. "Did she say who she went to visit?"

"...No, she didn't."

"Why didn't you ask?"

Mynk seemed confused. "Well...Habib provides us with plenty of freedom. I...suppose he doesn't mind where we go, as long as we will be safe."

"...Right," I mumbled, unsure about my initial thoughts on the leader.

Mynk must have seen this in my expression and began her attempt to soothe my doubt. "He cares about every colony member a lot," she reassured. "He and Ikari just try not to be restrictive."

I figured Ikari must have been Habib's mate, the slowking. "But...when I was talking to Habib earlier, he said there had been three members missing other than Larse. Zhol, Luck, Azure..."

"Before Larse arrived," she began, quick to settle my mind, "we thought she might have gone missing too. But when she returned, she said nothing about capture, and Larse told us she met up with him; he never saw her on the ship."

I narrowed my eyes. "Well...perhaps I was mistaken, then."

"Yes—it must have been another glaceon that you met."

I ducked my head to enter a second home after Mynk turned and brushed the tip of her tail through the bottom of an arch—the section that lacked wood. There was a short noise to signify we were welcome, and soon enough I was in the company of a stout, colourful bellossom. She danced from within tall grass which spread across most of the house, and bowed before us with undying grace.

"Welcome," she lulled, connecting her gaze with mine before Mynk's.

After learning that the bellossom's name was Mio, and that her mate was called Greech, she told me about her son, an oddish called Ollie. He sounded cute...but agitating like most young pokémon. She seemed to love him with all her heart though, as mothers do, and I came to wonder what kind of a parent I would make. The thought didn't linger as Mio offered us some food. "Sure!" I agreed, watching as she placed some berries on the floor. I snuffled up two before looking up at her. "Sho," I began, my cheeks bulging, "you wan'...any o' dese?"

She declined, calmly explaining that, being plant pokémon, her family mainly consumes water for their daily needs as well as a few rotten berries—and a "healthy dose of sunlight". I agreed with the sunlight and berries, but surviving mainly on water? How distasteful!

We moved onto the houses up the stretch, sticking to the left row of houses, and passed Shard's house before coming across Azure's. I eyed it as we padded past, and the waterhole I previously saw appeared before me once more, and I felt as if I was on that tour all over again. Further left was a house with the waterhole's inlet running through it, and I was told that a politoed called 'Politoad' occupied it. I gave a suspicious eye-narrowing, but it quickly vanished as we came to the one in the corner. Zhol's. "I guess I'll be staying here then," I mentioned, and Mynk turned her head. "I came with her here, and since I've been allowed a place to stay, it'll probably be with her since we know each other the most."

Next to hers, on the right (and facing in towards the waterhole), was an adjoined home. My linoone friend led me through the first section (after doing that tail-swishing thing again) and as I stepped inside, my limbs seized up. It was freezing! A chilly wind whipped past me and blew my fur about the room (in a non-literal manner) as I dropped a flame onto my paws. With a small "ouch!" I regretted it instantly, and directed my focus to something else.

Mynk gave an innocent smile and gestured towards me. "This is Dusty."

We tossed our gazes between each other like a bundle of hay as I was quick to recognise this pokémon. She was one of the three I had woken up to—the one whose species I was unknowing of. She looked me up and down before she showed a meek smile and hovered closer, whispering a greeting that she followed up with a voice-clearing. I didn't know whether to jump back in surprise, having forgotten she could move without walking, or show friendliness back.

"H...hi," I muttered, figuring that would do. Just as Mynk attempted to speak, I interrupted. "If... Well, what are you?" I stated blatantly. She didn't seem offended in any way, but her eyes told me she was wary and conscious of my words.

"M-my species is froslass..." she stuttered back, and I searched my mind for the word, only to find nothing familiar. Instead I grunted in return.

"She runs the healing clinic," Mynk mentioned with added enthusiasm, and I nodded.

"I see..." I murmured, glancing around. The place seemed pretty pristine and orderly (apart from all that less-than-appealing snow strewn across just about everything), but...similar to any other home. A bed (although this one was very snowy and reasonably thicker), a table-bench thing, a few stumps and...that was about it. However, my attention was drawn to an indent in the wall on the right. I realised it was, in fact, the connection to the room beside it, and a door sat in that indent. Curious, I continued to stare.

"This room is Aemara's house; however, through there is where she helps us heal if we get injured or sick." The linoone nodded her head to the door I'd been staring at, and I understood. After we left, we walked between Tarla (that altaria) and another pokémon's home and continued until we reached another house—one outside Den Row. "This is where I live!" she told me ecstatically, bounding to the entrance. With a cheerful face and paws pointing through, she invited me in after swinging open the door.

I entered and suddenly I was swallowed by a multi-cultural home. It was a fair bit larger than most others I'd seen, but the same size as Mio's. To the left of the room the floor from the middle to the back had been laid with stone and the walls were completely constructed of it. At first I couldn't figure out why at first, and then I noticed the bed was not hay—it was a mound of dirt. One time while travelling with Master, I had met a monferno who belonged to a friendly trainer who chose to come with us for a number of days. On the contrary to when he was a chimchar, his flame didn't burn out as he fell asleep, so in order to avoid setting things on fire, he slept amongst rock and grassless dirt—or, for even further convenience purposes, in his poké ball. I figured the charmander I saw before lived in the house, since she was the only fire type that I knew was part of the colony—and she didn't have relatives.

The middle also had dirt and, for safety, the walls were stone as well. I assumed Mynk slept there, since next door, on the right, a bed of sand and moss stretched across a decent space, with a couple of rocks planted here and there. In the centre of the room, further toward the door, was a low-cut bench of wood surrounded by four stone stumps. The floor was, unlike the other huts I'd entered, nearly completely clean of vegetation. Which made sense, of course, given the type of a residing resident.

"How do you like it?" Mynk wondered, taking her place on a stone stump which seemed a bit small for her.

"It's, uhh...interesting," I admitted, although I did find it a tad insulting that a fire type had to sleep on a pile of dirt (which could surely put out the flame anyway...well, an ordinary flame), but Mynk did too, I guess.

She must have followed my gaze, because the emotion about her altered dramatically. I sensed her spirits descending before she told me, "When she arrived here...she needed somewhere to stay. I lived in one of the other homes, but when I offered to let her live with me, the stronger villagers constructed this home for us." She looked down, reminiscing with a tad of sadness. "..She never fitted in." She swallowed. "...She never talks; she barely eats..." Her face dropped. "I...I've never seen her happy... And I...I just wish there was more I could do for her... So I can see her...smile."

I had no idea what to do at that point. I felt suddenly deflated, and my shoulders began to sag. I approached her and sat by her side, a stable look on my face. I knew she was appreciative, and she attempted a positive reaction, but her muscles refused to form a cheerful arrangement.

I stayed with her for at least half an hour before being collected by Cubbs and set between the many homes. I waited as Greech passed, disappearing into his home, and Gigin nodded to me once or twice as she scampered by a few times. I tossed my head about, wondering why I had been instructed to stand in the middle of a path. "...Remind me why I'm here again?" I demanded impatiently. My toes began to jiggle.

"Be patient," replied the cubone with a stern frown. "You'll be told soon."

I sneered at him and dropped to my belly, my head between my paws as I blew a puff of dirt from the ground, beginning to think. _'This colony is so different to what I imagined.'_ My eyes bumped into the many homes surrounding me. _'Huts made like humans'... Pokémon of all kinds... Orderly schedules... Each pokémon with their own responsibility...'_ My mind ran in circles, chasing its tail. _'It's kinda peaceful... Not much drama...apart from the members who were pokénapped.' _

I was due for a guilt trip regarding Luck again as crunching stones sounded behind me. I rose quicker than fire could melt a hail stone and swung myself around. I was pleasantly surprised as the slowking made her last steps in my direction before stopping, her face a mix of contentment and sheepishness. "It's just me, dear," she commented, laying her innocence down before me.

"Regards...Dame Ikari Slowking," Cubbs stated, bowing. She seemed flattered.

"Please, Cupborn," she began while he kept his head half-way, "I insist that, if you wish to call me that, call me 'slowqueen'."

"Less patronising?" I queried, figuring it made sense.

"Oh, hello," she greeted with a warmth I hadn't felt in a long time...figuratively speaking.

I gave an acknowledging smile in return, looking about. Cupborn nodded to his 'dame'. "...So why am I here?"

Ikari perked up. "Oh—sorry to keep you waiting, dear!" she chuckled, approaching me as I craned my neck to view her properly. "Our hunters not only hunt in the south, but also the east and west. Currently Zhol and Shardclaw are south of the colony, and there are parties ready to set out to the west and the east." I tilted my head, wondering where she was going with this. "As your first duty for the colony...I'd like you to go with one to hunt."

"Oh, crap," I whispered scornfully. Quickly looking back to her, I issued an uneasy response consisting of groans and awkward expressions.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Uhh...it's just that..." My paws shifted and I chewed my lip. I really didn't know the second thing about hunting.

I was saved by a distraction as a small bunch of pokémon hustled into view. "We're about to leave," the altaria spoke, her tone informative rather than requesting. She stood proudly with a small, moss-coloured pokémon on her left. He was canine-like and had yellow streaks along his elongated head and a spike-like tail poking up from his behind. An electrike.

"Oh?" Ikari met her eyes. "Wonderful!"

"And us," began another voice, and Hyso hopped up, the floatzel I glimpsed earlier following with a confident grin. "We were going to head west to the wide-river and hunt some fish."

"Most certainly!" the orange pokémon agreed, and I felt like a sarcastic swing of the arm (or leg).

The slowki—queen set her gaze upon me, and I suddenly felt like the entire colony was watching. "Which party would you like to travel with?"

I glanced between the two groups. _'Hmm...let's see...'_ Tarla silently dared me to follow with her menacing eye, and the small electrike, although cute, avoided my line of sight. _'The snooty altaria overflowing with self-confidence and a shy electric type, or the seemingly friendly water type going fishing with a placid looking raticate partner...'_ The choice was an easy one, and the answer tickled my claws as I began to reply. "I pick—"

My question was interrupted as a patter of feet scattered across the ground and three figures materialised before us. One, tall and broad, looked down upon me with alarmed eyes which quickly returned to wary; another, a short pokémon, looked slightly emotionless but at the same time happy. The latter grew a smile.

"Zhol!" I exclaimed, nearly leaping onto her with excitement. I felt my tail sway and my body strengthen. It hadn't been long, but it was weird to go for a measurable time without her.

"Hi, Dusty!" she replied mildly enthusiastically, revealing the third pokémon—a bite-sized pink pokémon with blue polka-dots – or, as I liked to call them, poké-dots – spread out over his skin. A scrunched face appeared disappointed as the snubbull addressed everyone with a flash of his eyes and shyly hobbled down the centre of the path and between us all, in the direction of the waterhole.

"Who's the cutie?" I asked the sneasel amusedly, finding the young pokémon ugly and adorable at the same time.

"He's a granbull's son—Hunter." She drew the slowqueen's attention and mentioned, as the scyther pushed by, "He was injured, so we returned to get his wounds treated."

Ikari nodded, and with her eyes she followed Shardclaw walking beside the normal type, guiding him closer to the clinic. "It was good you thought to do so." She passed Zhol a supportive smile.

"Oh—Ikari?" I began, stepping forward. By the looks of things, she wasn't aware I knew her name. "Can I go with Zhol? She's a great teacher! I—I mean...of the surroundings. Teaching me about the trees and...plants, and...general landscape." I cleared my throat uncomfortably, my speech beginning to quicken. "You know."

Zhol tilted her head as Ikari thought my request over. "...That would be fine," she answered, and I cheered, pouncing onto my dark and ice type friend and knocking her to the ground. She nearly speared me with her claws as an automatic reaction, but instead held back her giggles and disapproval, shoving me to one side.

"If you all don't mind, could you and Shardclaw take Dusty to the east, so Tarla and Doltei can search the area you were hunting in?" Ikari wondered, and I found it interesting that she asked for clearance before making the orders.

Zhol seemed indifferent. "I don't mind."

With a shrug, Hyso and the floatzel scurried down towards where Zhol was taking me earlier, through the west exit, and Tarla huffed, turning to the electrike. She muttered something and took wing, grasping him in her talons and soaring in the opposite direction to the huts—where Zhol and Shardclaw had come.

"So... We _will_ be going with Shardclaw, then?" I questioned with a string of displeasure dangling from my tone.

"...Yes," the sneasel confirmed, and I groaned inwardly. I _so_ didn't want to travel with him.

**ooo**

Why did Azure lie about her whereabouts? _"It must have been another glaceon that you met."_ I'm not an idiot. ...Well...maybe I sometimes am, but Raiys _introduced_ her to me as Azure. I _know_ it was her. The question now was, as I had been wondering, why didn't she tell anyone she was pokénapped? Was she ashamed or embarrassed about it? Did she tell someone who wasn't Mynk? It didn't make much sense. Or, as an old friend and I used to say, it made anti-sense.

A twig slipped between two of my toes and stabbed my skin. "OUCH!" I yelped with a scowl, angry that it would so rudely interrupt my thinking. I spat a flame onto it, and a thin trail of smoke lifted, snaking sneakily into the sky. I noticed that Shard's eyes grew as large as Cubbs' thick skull and he snapped at me to extinguish it. With a mutter of annoyance I stamped it out, and Zhol threw me a particular look. It was a look of expectance: I should get used to being bossed around by this overgrown bug type. "Heh, we'll see..." The trees ushered us further into the forest as the path became rockier, and soon we were leaping up small hills and eddying around the occasional boulder. As I remembered the question regarding Azure, I turned to my sneasel friend. "Hey," I started, and she met my gaze. "Why didn't you tell me Azure was a colony member?"

The sneasel seemed to ponder as she looked skyward before back to me. "You didn't ask me."

"Yeah, but I mentioned her before we got here... And it was like you didn't know who she was at all."

"Azure has...not been staying with us long. We are unacquainted," she mused, and I could see her digging through her thoughts.

"Right..." I jumped a rock my size (and nearly snagged a foot on its point). "Do you know where she came from?"

The sneasel shook her head, and I frowned, facing forward once more. As I glanced over my shoulder, the scyther acted as if he hadn't been staring at – or 'checking on' – me while I'd been talking to Zhol, and that only made my frown marks deepen. He was beginning to get on my nerves, and pretending wasn't going to stop me from wanting to tackle him down and interrogate him.

My attention was shifted as a slope appeared to the left, obscuring the sharp and tricky stalagmites which had been spiking that path near when we began, and it rose fast before it was soon a looming wall of rock. A path wound up it further on, and on its level was what looked like more grass. The grass where we were was thinning out, and mainly in clumps. The trees were changing to become harsher and ahead in the far distance I could glimpse a barren land stretching further with each ledge and giant stone.

Zhol made a subtle edge towards the slope which tore through the wall, and soon enough we were elevating and onto grass once more, turning to the left. The path now stretched to the north, rather than the east, and it felt odd, since right next door was a desert-like land. However, I went with the flow, and the literal sound of flowing trickled into my ears, drowning my hearing in a rushing current not far off. "You guys gonna fish?" I asked, but really I should have directed the question to Zhol and Zhol only. It's not like the scyther would reply.

"Oktau and Hyso are responsible for fish," she told me, and I made an effort to thank her for her answer before padding on by the wall which continued in this direction.

Rustling hustled to my ears before I assumed a ready stance and locked my sights on a tree just begging me to hunt its inhabitants. A feathery tail poked through a break between the leaves, and my heart began leaping. "This is so mine," I claimed, narrowing my eyes.

My friend hardly seemed interested in upstaging me. "...I'll check if the river can be crossed easily," she mentioned, and I nodded, trying to concentrate.

As the sneasel rushed off, I crouched with my tail end to the rock and I attempted to recall what I had seen her do when she hunted. Although...fishing was what I watched her to, and with that she merely used her hefty claws to take aim and then stab the suckers. Though I didn't think that technique would be so effective in a situation like this, where the prey was in the air rather than being submerged. Taking my chances, I decided to stick with my instincts and wing it (here's where one would groan at my humour)! I took off, having a better result than the last tree I tried to climb up, and the branch caught me with the many extra limbs growing from it in several places. I scrambled onto it and managed to balance after steadying myself, and then I readied myself once more and leapt onto an easier branch above. Once stable, I flashed a sly grin to Shard, who was watching with what...could have been worry.

I crouched, my belly fur brushing against the bark, and my shoulders reached for the sky as I crept along, meeting the trunk. I hoisted myself up to have two front paws against it and my hind legs were swarmed with weight. Saliva began flooding my mouth as I watched as, above, a number of spearow squawked at the sight of me and my hungry eyes.

Much to my surprise, I was jumped by one as he dove down and swooped, nearly slicing my eye. I shrieked and dipped my head, my tuft blowing back as the wind weaved between each strand. My paws nearly slipped as he wheeled around and tried again, but this time he skimmed my ear with a wing attack, and a soft throbbing began at its tip. As he repeated the action and neared me for a third time, I scarcely aimed before firing a stream of flamethrower, but the bird pokémon was unexpectedly agile and evaded the attack with a feather to spare. I screeched as he landed a successful gust attack, and I was blown hopelessly off balance, clawing at the bough for safety. Apparently the forest was mocking me as I failed to get a grip and tumbled onto the bough below and continued to the ground with a pain-induced wail.

In no time I felt a rush of wind and the flash of metal as I blinked out the pain and weakly turned my head. I couldn't breathe as a result of being winded as I witnessed Shard race past me, take to the air and then flutter his way to the branch that threw me off. His claws dug into the bark and he raised his weapon-arms and must have been satisfied as the spearow screeched and reeled back, zooming to the nest he originated in.

I finally inhaled the much needed air surrounding me, and my chest heaved as I got to my paws and felt a large presence looming over me. I panted, twisting my head to see a scyther clenching his jaw. As much as I didn't want to, I thanked him. It was horribly embarrassing to have nearly been beaten by a meagre spearow, but all the while, I was relieved it had been scared off before it did any more...damage...

Shard muttered a reply, but after he realised it was barely audible, he cleared his throat and repeated, "You're...welcome," and slipped away. He only went a few paces before stopping again, and I wearily followed.

I realised the reason he stopped and did the same thing, noticing as a duo of tasty-looking young buneary hopped along one of the rock wall's levels. I gave a sinister smile as I decided I liked what I saw. Turns out we both had the same thoughts as Shard took off and lifted into the air before landing soundlessly onto the edge of the level the normal types had been previously on. I flinched with a tang of jealousy as I bounded towards a pile of boulders and jutting ledges that were my pathway to landing next to him (not that he waited).

Following their tail-ends, I sprinted after them while making sure to keep clear of the edge to my right which came before a long drop. It wasn't long before I was overtaken, and within a matter of seconds, Shard was skimming effortlessly across the rock in hot pursuit. I darted after him, avoiding any splits in the floor or jutting rocks along the way.

We slowly rose, and the wall next to us grew further away, so that our level was becoming wider. We both had more space to run, and the buneary had less space to hide.  
In no time Shard's scythes came down upon one as the other flew out of the way at the last second, and unfortunately for the buneary, it was cut down its leg. It howled and rolled into a boulder before becoming unconscious, and Shard took it upon himself to bite into its neck to stop its pulse. I, meanwhile, sped past the scyther with the second and rather distressed normal type in view, felt my stomach fizzle, and spat out a glob of purple goop. It splattered short of the prey, and I was left to jump over it at the last second. I scoffed, thinking it to be typical, and tried again. This time I aimed further ahead, and it landed half a metre in front of the buneary. I frowned again, thinking it to be typical, but when it skidded, lost its footing and began somersaulting, I lightened up.

"Score," I whispered, dancing 'round the puddle and ripping the buneary from the ground. But when it shrieked and struggled rather than flopping dead, I drew a sharp breath and adjusted my grip, biting down harder. Finally I felt the prey droop, and I grimaced, imagining how painful it must have been when I failed to extinguish hi—its life. Every time I identified a prey pokémon's gender, it became more personal, just like if I had known their name. That made it harder to kill the prey and become driven of all remorse. Master used to tell me something every time I had given her a forlorn look:

_"The food chain works in a certain way. Without the food, there is no chain; and without the chain, there's no order of things. So don't feel bad."_

My head hung from my shoulders. I...I really missed her. It's...hard without her.

"Come on," muttered Shard through the fluff of his catch, and I obeyed after shaking the sorrow from my mind. I was rather surprised he had spoken to me, but who was to say he was comfortable?

"Yeah..." I mused, following with a body swaying back and forth from my jaws. Suddenly a tremor made me blink. _'A tremor?'_ At first I thought it was my belly, but when it visibly shook our surroundings, I had two things to believe: my stomach knew the move earthquake, or something else did!

Rocks from above tumbled from the high-placed ledge, and images of being trapped beneath one or having my skull forced in two invaded my mind. I snapped out of it and leapt, missing one by a single hair.

"Shard!" I yelped, the scyther frozen with fear. Around him a shower of stone chipped the ground and landed a fang short of his body. "SHARD!" I screamed, but the scyther's only reaction was his jaw giving way and the dead buneary falling like slop onto the rock. I cracked down on the prey in my mouth and jolted forward, forcing myself to race through a deadly cascade of rocks. The adrenaline awoke inside of me, and my leg muscles were prompted to boost me forward in a desperate attempt to protect my very life.

Unfortunately the normal type which would satisfy my belly later on added to the weight I needed to carry, and it was constantly banging against my front. I clenched my teeth tighter as I forced myself to release it, but I didn't need reminding about how bad that choice was. In a tangle my paws intertwined and there was less than a second to spare as my face slid along the harsh surface, stones and grit embedding themselves into my skin. I cried out with shock, a strong stinging firing up around my muzzle and forehead.

The sound of shattering rock pierced my ears as shards attacked from my right, some sharp enough to lodge into my flesh and cause a considerable amount of pain. "Ahh!" I screeched, curling up and praying from the depths of my heart for Arceus to spare my soul allow me my life. As soon as it could my head flipped up, and my eyes fell to Shard. Another boulder was crashing down from above him, and the fool was merely standing with wide eyes! I pondered things for a moment before ramming my paws against the rock. Had I not sprung from my position then and there and Shard would have been squashed scyther fodder! I slammed into him, narrowly avoiding a slit leg, and he was strewn across the path in a clumsy daze. I tensed my muscles and braced myself, preparing for a sickening crunch and a lost leg, but to my eternal relief, the sound was one of rock on rock. "You owe me," I remarked, but my mood was quickly knocked from me as I felt my wet face ring with pain once more, and I longed for it to stop.

Although I knew my limbs had survived, I was unable to jump away as a fierce tugging clawed at my rump. I was in a wicked panic as I whipped around and absorbed the sight of my trapped tail. I squealed with desperation, swiping at the ground as if it would lift the rock and make it roll off the edge, but to my horror the reality of the situation dawned on me.

_I was stuck._

**ooo**

"Shard!" I yelped again, repeating his full name shortly after. This was insane! Why was he leaning on his back, propping himself with his scythes and merely staring wide-eyed at me?! He needed to intervene and help me already! "Come _on_!" I pleaded, my eyes frantic in their search for more descending death spheres that were anywhere near. I caught sight of another, and it rocked on the above edge before tilting and dropping with a thick whistling sound. It was headed straight for me, and my eyes forced tears within them as I bore holes into Shardclaw's skull! "_Help me_!"

I heard the misleading shatter of the boulder, and I felt it bash into my spine, causing a shrill shriek to escape my maw. However, it took me longer than a moment to recognise that it wasn't a full-sized rock that had struck me. In fact, it was a mere fragment, and the contact it made with me was more of a shock than painful. Confused at this, I flung my head skywards in time to witness a dark figure soar before landing, its back to me and its powerful claws hanging just short of the ground. This 'it' was certainly not genderless.

"Z...ZHOL!" I cried, gushing fluids of relief and happiness mingled with those caused by fear and doubt. "You saved my life!" She whirled around and barely skimmed my face before zipping to my side and hesitated before slicing through the boulder and releasing my tail. I was overwhelmed and strongly grateful, and I wanted to find Zhol all the prey in the world to drop at her feet and watch her indulge in.

"Keep moving," she urged, and I flicked my head upward. My heart stabbed my chest as I saw more rocks targeting us and began plunging in our directions.

With a scream I attempted to dart away, but my right leg almost betrayed me as I remembered the shards in my side. I had no time to yank them out as a rock smashed in front of me, and my best attempt to shield my face was to halt and shove it down, and a spray of pieces pattered my ears. One portion struck my eye, although it was closed, and I scrunched up my face as thumping began pulsing through my head. With no other priority, I blindly raced on, temporarily forgetting anyone but myself, and finally I saw the end of the path—where it began dividing into ledges. "Yes," I breathed, nearly doubting my heavenly vision. My paws carried me faster, if possible, and my want for time to speed up was overwhelming. The repeated action of legs pushing my body placed me only metres from escape and my eyes lit up. I felt free, and somehow so much lighter; it was easier to run!

Without warning a yellow figure swiped the stability from my paws and I landed flat on my belly a number of paces away. I barely had enough time to dodge a stone the size of a solrock as I scrambled for better footing, wandering dangerously close to the edge. A sandslash lowered her head and shot forward in my direction, and I gasped, leaping towards Zhol, who was diagonally to my right. She crashed into Shard and our mouths simultaneously scooped up rocks. I wasn't even given a chance to apologise as a boulder flew down from the above ledge, bounced, and knocked Zhol clean off the cliff. "Zhol!" I screamed, and the dual type luckily slipped from the rock's underside as the two slammed separately into the earth below. The sneasel had been hit while she didn't expect it, and as a result she failed to land upright. When she made contact with the ground, she was pushed a few metres forward in the form of somersaults before halting beneath a tree.

Shard drew a sharp breath and heaved himself up, dashing past me and stopping midway between me and the sandslash. The spiked pokémon adopted an offensive position, a glint of anger and protective nature shimmering through her eyes. This struck me as odd, but I continued watching what Shard did once confirming the lack of boulders in my general vicinity. The two sharp pokémon stared each other down for only a second longer before a rock tumbled down, nearly directly heading for Shard. I narrowed my eyes and the scyther returned. I met his alert eyes and he seemed ready for something as I heard the patter of paws and clatter of claws against rock.

The sandshrew evolution burst through the fragments of the stone and sprinted our way, and impulsively Shard hooked his jaws around my mane. I was taken by complete surprise as his wings started beating a million miles per hour and my paws lifted from the rock. I was for once glad about the many knots weaved into my fur; however, clearly I was too heavy for his jaws alone to endure, and we descended quite quickly, tumbling across the ground once connecting with it. It was as if we had been spat from a giant mouth as we lay sprawled across dirt and grass shoots. I moaned and lifted myself up, my confused gaze being thrown about as I laid eyes on the sandslash. She watched intently from the top of the looming wall, and frankly I was intimidated!

Looking away to prevent angering her further, I dug through the air to find Zhol lying limp to my left. I scrambled to her side, nearly stumbling over my own paws, and held my head over her. She was bleeding in many places, notably both arms and her left cheek, and she seemed unable to move a leg very well. Her breathing was inconsistent and her eyelids pushed against one another, squeezing tears from underneath. I bit my lip, guilt jabbing my chest as I realised she was hit by the boulder on my account.

"Damn it," I cursed, tearing from her as a clash met my ears. To my horror a gang of outsiders had surrounded Shard and were attacking one at a time, going for weaker parts such as his abdomen. "Hey!" I yelped, but immediately I regretted it. All four (plus Shard) thrust daggers in my side as they took note of me, and two split from the group and headed in my direction—fast. The two coming for me were a cubone and a numel, and somehow both were unexpectedly fast! The cubone spun a bone at me, and I shrieked, ducking. It flipped straight over my head, and unfortunately for the ground type, came to a halt as it thumped into the tree Zhol was resting under. And unfortunately for us, it dropped onto her face. "Sorry," I whispered, watching as she shakily got to her feet. I was unsure whether or not she should be doing that, but I could use the extra help!

The orange and green stout fire type plundered towards me while the cubone came to a stop to plan another attack, and I readied a shadow ball. Pretending the cubone was Cubbs, a spark of dislike got the ghost move fired up, and combined with the negative energy emitting from the surrounding pokémon, I shot the spherical dark matter forwards, and it hovered above the ground until it struck the numel, sending him back a few paces.

"Gimme my bone!" The cubone presumably had his heart set on retrieving his bone as he sprinted in my direction, jumped a few centimetres, and landed with his lower half turned as if he were surfing. What certainly wasn't a wave of water sprayed in our faces, and in no time I was seeing sand. However, the cubone never made it to his beloved object as Zhol covered him in snow and ice, freezing the sucker in his tracks, as well as the ground his feet were attached to. I had no objections as I looked to her, a satisfied expression in place, but she was unable to reflect my feelings as she staggered and dropped, catching her weight with her powerful claws. I ducked my head to assist her, checking to ensure her safety.

"Take it easy," I advised, and the sneasel wheezed, presenting her undefeatable half-grin.

Our silent exchange was interrupted as our ally grunted loudly. Shard was fending off not only two sandslash, but the numel which previously challenged me. I found this completely unjust, and with a burst of sudden heroism, I sped forward. Just as a sandslash lashed out at my scyther acquaintance, I released a stream of fire, hopefully frying her ears and whatever else it happened to hit. Quickly I repeated the action on the other sandslash (while I heard Shard shriek), and I skidding to a stop as they both shook off and raised their massive weapons. Another numel and a sandshrew appeared from nowhere on the ledge and began making their ways down, presenting more problems.

By that time I was fleeing back towards Zhol and into the sanctuary of trees, the sandslash tailing me. Zhol avoided them both as we rushed past her, but one caught sight of her frozen fellow cubone and turned to her. The sneasel backed up, her claws out to the sides in case she needed to use them. However, one of her legs gave way and she almost fell, giving the sandslash nearly complete dominance. In an effort to evade the sandslash on my tail, I whirled around, earning myself a scratch from the outstretched claws, and, gathering fuel for another shadow ball as fast as I was able, I fired the attack at the other sandslash. I nearly missed as it slammed into her, and Zhol was dubbed a lower priority as the enemy pokémon regained her balance and slapped me into her line of sight. "Uh oh," I muttered, forced to make a sharp turn to the left and back toward the trees, confusing the sandslash that didn't stop for Zhol—Sandslash One. I knew Zhol was thankful as I raced between trunks and kicked up dirt especially for my followers to swallow, and I began to notice that the forest was thinning. _'Oh, that's right!'_ I thought, thinking myself to be a bit of an idiot. _'It'll get rockier and rockier.'_

I was faster than those ground types, which meant I had a bit of an advantage, and that showed as I tossed my head over my shoulder to check their positions. After feeling bushy material tickle my toes, I suddenly slammed into something, falling on my back. I groaned and rolled over, taking in the massive stone that I somehow didn't see. I stumbled behind it and slumped against it, waiting out the pain in my front. It slowly faded, but I knew I'd have a bruise or two.

The stone shook as a sandslash, as I had expected, ran face-first into its surface, and I held back the giggles as Sandslash Two (or Angry Sandslash) leaped from the bushes and landed to my right. Since she was shocked and distracted by her partner's sudden halt, her peripherals failed to pick me up, and I gave a smirk. I took this opportunity to use a quick attack, knocking the foe off her feet, and followed it up with a (disappointingly) weak flamethrower. Sandslash One appeared at Angry Sandslash's body, and readied her claws—those giant ones as long as her mouse-like face. She launched herself at me, nicking my tail as I turned it and ran, circling the small clearing we'd stumbled into.

I nearly stopped as I turned to view my backside, thinking the glimpse I caught of it was my imagination. I blinked with horrid realisation as I assessed it: _half of my tail was gone_. "WHAAAAT?!" I screamed, finally knowing why I felt so much lighter and 'free'. I shrieked again, and Sandslash One looked taken aback. However, it didn't throw her off track as she neared, eyes determined and claws ready. But I would have none of that. While running I acidified my throat, my stomach lurching as it bubbled and slid poison liquids up my pipes and into my mouth. With a "Pleh!" I spat a glob after shifting my head around, and I heard a splat before slowing to see the damage I did. However, I left myself open to surprise attacks, and it was then that I tumbled backwards, confused before I realised Angry Sandslash had rapid spun me away from her. I shook off and forced myself to my paws, feeling the increasing burden plaguing my body.

Both sides of my body ached. My thighs thumped as cuts and scrapes dotted my skin, as well as the bullet hole, and my face was still stinging, stones etched between wounds. My shoulders had similar problems, notably the scratch Sandslash One had caused. On top of that, I had half a tail! And how that happened I'd have no clue! Just about the only section of my body that remained untouched was the skin under my mane.

The ground types began closing in on me; I glanced from side to side, wondering what to do. I ran my gaze down Sandslash One, but nearly all the poison had dropped off. I nearly smacked myself in the forehead for forgetting that ground types barely took damage from poison attacks, but it had slowed her down, at least.

Out of nowhere I fired a line of flames towards them, and silently referred to them as cheaters as they retreated into their spikes, becoming nothing more than sharp balls. The fire steered clear of them, and they uncurled as if nothing had happened. I stressed my neck muscles, checking to see what was behind me. A stump and some bushes, and that was practically the end of proper vegetation; ahead (or behind) was dying plantation, and eventually things like cacti and drought-comfortable grass. Flicking my head back to the sandslash, I folded my lips in. These powerful pokémon had me outnumbered and outmatched. They both had type advantages against me, and I had a feeling they weren't going to stop their ball-curling just for me.

One of them kicked up sand, and I ducked with a squeak, missing it by a hair, while the other darted forward and slashed with her giant claws. If it hadn't been for the duck, I would have had two stakes in my face! I rolled out the way so I was behind the entrance stone, shards of an earlier boulder attack digging further into my flesh while dirt clung to patches to blood. Sandslash One, who happened to be the one that kicked sand in my face, pursued me in spherical form and bowled me over, her spikes thankfully not impaling me. I landed with an "Oof!" and felt nearly sick as my legs hoisted me up again. Sandslash One rolled back to her friend, and they exchanged inaudible words while I was struggling to regain focus. As weary as I was, I couldn't let them win. For all I knew, they'd leave me out here with no treatment—or worse: take me back to their lair and eat me!

Just when I thought nothing could get any worse, another shudder of the stone caught our attention, and I picked up some cursing before a black figure leaped over the bush beside it—behind me. I was ready to curse with him as I scanned his body. His main colour was charcoal, but his muzzle and underside were orange. There was what looked to be a tiny skull situated in the middle of his chest, and he had bone bracelets cuffing his ankles as well as streaking his back. He was bigger than me and definitely more intimidating as he snarled, revealing a row of sharp teeth. The horns on his head were curled threateningly, and his eyes were rather enticing and burning with passion. He flicked his elongated, arrow-ended tail in annoyance and I definitely had reason to panic: I couldn't adequately use flamethrower or shadow ball against him, and definitely not a bite, and honestly I had no motivation to fight him at all. However, that wouldn't stop him from attacking me with as much force as he pleased.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Tasting the New Life

**Chapter Nineteen: Tasting the New Life  
**

Zhol grimaced as the first numel thudded against the ground, the ears of his so close together twitching. She held her left arm with her right set of claws, letting a breath seep in and back out again through her small nose. As inclined as she felt to assist her scyther acquaintance, she knew was simply too weak. That rock slide had really taken its toll on her, especially when she had slammed into the ground without being able to cushion herself in any way. Normally she wouldn't be so drained after one hit, but reasoning with herself, she realised she didn't often deal with rocks and had not many defences against them. She was just glad she'd arrived in time to free Dusty.

Dusty. She'd sped off into the trees which would surely decrease in number as the rocky plains drew nearer, and those two sandslash had been closely following. She knew they were strong, but Dusty was too. But judging by the wounds she had, Zhol was surprised the flareon was able to keep going when she wasn't. She appeared just as beaten, if not more, and the sneasel never thought she was more experienced in battle than her. Maybe they were equal, but being a hunter, surely Zhol was higher skilled.

Her mind derailed as she laid eyes on a wave of fire circling away from the numb pokémon as Shard dashed backwards and to Zhol's right as she watched with angered eyes. She tensed her arm muscles, attempting to regain some kind of strength, and stumbled towards them. She was confronted by the sandshrew as he emerged from the soil, striking her in the chin. She toppled over, her face beginning to pulse with beats of pain. In no time the ground type was back over her, straightening his amateur claws and raking her belly. In a fury Zhol swatted her right chunky paw above her chest and into the pokémon's jaw, scraping as it fell from his face.

The sandshrew squealed, and the ice and dark type took advantage of the speed she always carried, using quick attack to stand and sprint past him, feeling his body land flat against the ground as she stretched out her arm on the way past. Her legs ached and her knee almost failed as she came closer to the numel, temporarily disappearing with the shadows and showing herself again sometime soon, shoving a blunt side of her claws into the fire type's face just as he released a small shower of flames. The embers plummeted into her left foot, and she cried out, shaking it as the fire remained lodged on her skin.

As a result of the knock to the face Zhol had given, the numel's neck swung and he came straight back with a headbutt, shoving the dual type's paw out of range. As she was distracted and had to lean down to brush the embers aside, he reared back and slammed down again, the ground nearby shaking violently and creating splits which dislodged Zhol's same foot. It slipped and she scraped her ankle as a sharp rock gashed its top, the rest of her body following and connecting with the ground as it failed to cease its trembling. The rocky ground continued to shift back into place, and she screamed, feeling a horrible pain as a bone or two in her foot crunched and begged her to leave them be.

Shard had no trouble as he hovered above the unstable ground, but he seemed to be otherwise immobile. Zhol, through generating tears and increased desperation, figured that something was getting the better of him. Either that or he simply and plainly refused to help, which was definitely not a suitable option for her, and did not seem like him at all.

The numel turned to the avoidant scyther and felt the hot magma inside his hump fizz and bubble before he unleashed another inferno, and it washed toward his enemies as Zhol's eyes grew as large as oran berries. Shard gaped and began to flee, but as he laid eyes on Zhol, he sparked a fight with himself.

He couldn't just leave her there. He was a protector; a warrior. He was not prey; he was a predator. He glanced down his left side, arguing internally. But as he remembered his duty as a scyther – and more importantly, as a _friend_ – he landed and sped to Zhol's frail frame just in time for the fire attack to hit. The scyther screamed, acting as a barrier before Zhol, and her eyes were wary and wide. She waited only a pawful of seconds before he released another cry as a second attack was launched, bending over and using his scythes to support what his legs couldn't. He met eyes with the sneasel, and they had but a moment before he swung around with rage and swiped at the dual type behind him. The numel was beyond his reach, but there was no need for closer ranges as a blade of air sliced through the space between them, knocking the numel paces back. He pressed on his right scythe to prop himself back onto his feet, and he turned, facing the foe.

Zhol breathed a small gasp as she took in the scorch marks the lava plume caused, and focused back on her foot with an effort to free it as she tugged. It remained lodged between the halves of earth, creating an enormous inconvenience for her...especially as she captured the moving image of a sandshrew plodding in her direction, and suddenly curled up and quickened his pace—or roll.

She bit down and cried out, trying harder to wedge her foot from the trap, but it would not budge and it was simply too painful to yank at. Shard was busy dodging attacks and issuing ones of his own to notice, and Zhol could only fire shards of ice—which rebounded off the ground type because of his rapid movement. She had no idea what to do as he neared, and her leg screamed in pain as she tried once more to free it.

She was mentally and physically stuck.

**ooo**

The dark and fire type continued rumbling, and as one of the sandslash made her move, he leapt, clearing me completely. I felt a wave of relief as I realised he must have made a tragic miscalculation and jumped over his target entirely, leaving me with the perfect opportunity to escape the way he came. My muscles jerked, my mind settled, and...I stopped myself.

The houndoom had came down onto Angry Sandslash, and while she was busy being stood on, he shot a trail of brightly burning fire at Sandslash One. She held her claws up, hissing as the flames worked around her, and I was taken by utter surprise. _Why_ was he attacking them and not me? Pushing aside the possibility that he could have been mixed up, I realised...he must not be the typical enemy I imagined him to be. He was not only helping me, but on my side!

He pushed off Angry Sandslash and moved back a number of paces, only a few metres from me. I turned to him, but before I could ask anything, Angry Sandslash propelled herself forwards and slammed into the houndoom's body.

I gasped, racing sidewards and tackling her with immediate regret; the pain in my shoulders intensified, and I hardly knew what I was doing as I realised I was throwing myself in harm's way for a pokémon I didn't know. We were thrown across the soil while the houndoom shook himself off and targeted Sandslash One. Instantly I scuttled away from Angry Sandslash, almost earning myself another scratch, and stood back to view the scene.

The houndoom fooled his opponent, leaped over her head, and landed behind her before blowing a powerful mouthful of fire onto her spines. She shrieked, darting from the flames, and the dark and fire type whirled around to repeat his action on Angry Sandslash, who was about to attack me. The sandshrew evolution squealed as well and wrapped herself in her spikes, becoming that large, spiky ball again.

I eyed the newest edition to the fight. My suspicion was rising. "What's with the saviour act?"

The houndoom stopped before me and lowered his eyelids, his mouth flickering into a sly smile. "I'd love for you to stay and chat, but you better get out of here."

My head withdrew, and I blinked numerously. Had he just told me to leave? "Wh..."

"Just look at you," he began, scoffing and running his eyes across just about every hair on my body. For some reason I suspected he was only making excuses to check me out.

"What?" I growled in return.

"You're _hardly_ in any condition to fight," he pressed, glancing over his shoulder as Angry Sandslash uncurled and plodded to her companion. He looked back at me as I opened my mouth. "They're not gonna stop now, so go. I'll take care of them."

I fumbled with my letters, dropping them and feeling them roll clumsily around my tongue until they formed real words. "What's in it for you?!"

He snorted amusedly, flicking his long, thin tail. "Impressing a female," he replied, and whipped around to face Sandslash One as she ran at him. He lowered his head and crashed into her front, and the ground type managed to stand her ground as she blocked his horns with her palms. "Go!" he shouted, his voice strained under pressure.

I barely debated with myself as I gave a heavy sigh and spun around, making for the bushes next to the stone. Once I cleared them, I halted and turned back. The male dual type slipped from the sandslash's embrace as her inadequate claws failed to attain proper grip, and darted between the trees that led to the barren land beyond. The two enraged pokémon followed, and I watched as they disappeared in the complete opposite direction to me. Huffing, I turned and ran without another thought, leaving them all behind.

**ooo**

After a tussle with that spearow who attacked me earlier, I accidentally killed it and it landed in a pile of crap. I felt kinda bad...but at least I finally managed to catch something. Although when I finally did, what were the chances of it becoming inedible? Sure, everything on the inside might taste okay...but I had suddenly lost my appetite when it plummeted into that cursed crap heap. "Stupid wild pokémon..." I muttered, padding to the fallen flying type. I slipped its tail feathers between my toes and dragged it from its place, scowling and knowing I wouldn't let myself even taste it. "I'm a freakin' trainer pokémon! I can't eat this!"

Thinking I may be able to clean it, I carefully chose a place to stick my fangs in. I carried it through the bracken and emerged before a reasonably sturdy scyther and a panting sneasel. Shard was on the rock level above, where we'd been prior to the fight. He didn't notice me as I showed myself, but Zhol, on the other hand, saw me immediately and radiated a relieved expression. She was leaning against a boulder implanted into the ground, and one eye was closed with what I assumed was pain. I was surprised and less than happy to see her like this, and walked over to her weakening frame, dropping the spearow.

"You're...back," she heaved wearily. "Did you...lose those sandslash?"

"Oh, Zhol..." I murmured, ensuring she was propped up. "We need to get back to the colony..."

She cringed, and I couldn't help but do the same at the sight of her. "Are they...gone?"

"Crap... What happened to your foot?" I asked with worry, taking in its crumpled and deformed appearance. There was a notable gash along the start of her claws on the top of her foot, and she was not using it for support. "It looks—"

"Dusty," she stated firmly, her eyes narrowing as her breathing showing as laboured. I was slightly startled by the tone in her voice as she swallowed her anger. "Where...are the _sandslash_?"

"Oh," I started, agitation sparking, "them. Some houndoom showed up and stole them." I kicked dirt over the spearow with a front paw, and Zhol seemed to notice, a tad confused.

"Stole...them?"

Our conversation was tucked away for us to retrieve later as Shard landed with a thump beside us. He held a very mangled pair of buneary between his jaws; one was missing an ear. With disappointment trickling from his face, he set them down and grimaced. The skin above my eyes folded in as I groaned, annoyed to have lost dinner to a bunch of rocks...not that there was much meat between them anyway. I was sure Shard felt the same way until he turned to wipe his scythe against a rock, and a scraping noise wavered to my ears. I noticed the long stream of singed armour along his back, and that seemed to be what he was making the uncomfortable faces at.

"Shard, you...your back," I stuttered, and he met my eyes as his body faced me again.  
He flung his eyes over his shoulder, running them down. "...I'm fine," he insisted, but I shook my head.

"I don't think so. You sure don't look it..." I then laid eyes on Zhol. "Neither do you."

The sneasel's lips curled. "You aren't exactly in pristine condition yourself," she remarked sharply, and I took a step back.

"I'm just sayin'!" I responded, wondering why she got so defensive. "How 'bout that river you went to check out?" I asked her, addressing the scyther at the same time. "We could go get cleaned up before heading back."

The pokémon both agreed, and we made our ways to the rushing water past the rock wall with many levels, and where the forest began growing again. I neared the water's edge and immediately felt like spitting into it, and I barely bothered to clean myself. I just splashed the liquid along my right side were the wounds from shards that had stuck into me at one point were, and I had to dunk my face in to clear the skin of stones and grit (leaving my tuft soggy and dripping wet).

Zhol sat on the bank and applied the water with care, washing away any blood or muck that may have been caking her fur. Shard stood in the centre, too strong and hardy to be taken by the current, and at times he lay down and held himself still to cool the burns on his back. After I was done with myself, I dipped my catch into the river and scrubbed it against a rock—which helped clean the excrement off, but coated it in moss and grime.

We stayed for nearly ten minutes before picking ourselves up and trudging back to the colony, using a shortcut behind the giant rock wall and eventually overtaking it once it levelled out. At one point I offered the bird pokémon to Shard, who accepted my gift and tore at it once we stopped for a single rest. He shared some with Zhol, and when I was offered some, I declined without a second thought. I thought he'd be able to smell the unpleasant odour, but apparently the water had washed it away.

"Why didn't you want it? It was your catch, after all," Shard had asked/mentioned, and I had given a sheepish smile.

"I...uh...dropped it in the river, and it...got...slimy?"

He'd been satisfied with that and we'd continued on, eventually arriving at our destination. By the time we waddled in through the east entrance, we were all about ready to collapse. We conveniently had another run-in with some wild ambipom and they'd somehow swiped me, placing me on a branch for their own amusement, and watched me teeter and topple from the unstable place. And it's not like Shard could have caught me—unless I wanted a change from four to two legs.

The scyther had at least flurried to the treetops and pursued the annoying two purple jesters, but they'd given him quite a challenge as they weaved between branches and played tricks on him. I thought it'd never end until I threatened to burn their homes down, and proved I wasn't bluffing by setting a tree on fire. They panicked and ran off, but clearly they didn't know that a fire pokémon's flames burn out quite easily. They began to smoulder, but to be sure Zhol cooled and muffled them with one of her ice moves. After that experience I'd be happy not to hunt for at least a week.

**ooo**

"...Am I better yet?" I questioned, and the floating dual type glanced at me once more, nearing my body. She inspected my covered wounds and asked me to stand up. I did, and she got me to lift my paws and jog on the spot. My bones ached, but weren't too bad. I assumed they were freezing up, being in this joint, and I was afraid that if I tried to blow any fire, it'd disintegrate and fail to do anything but look pretty. Therefore I deemed getting up and doing chores as more desirable than staying in this...oddly clean, medicine-scented place. Though I was secretly relieved to have my wounds treated, my face buzzed and the many rock shard-inflicted wounds thudded as ice melted inside them. That was apparently the froslass' way of treating exposed sores, and needless to say, if she was a flareon, she'd use anything but water based medicine.

She'd also smeared my face and every other open wound with a type of oil that she obtained by crushing and mashing leaves from a certain tree, and although I was told it would help disinfect them, it stung! On top of that, I was practically sealed off from the others; there were removable panels between us on either side, and I was in an end cell.

"You seem fully functional," she replied softly, "and you won't need any more bandages unless you really want them."

"Yippee!" I cheered, inspecting the one piece of white material hugging my right front leg. I glanced to my right after exiting my cubicle, spying a dark figure lying inert, her belly rising and falling faintly. "Is she...okay?" I wondered, my concern getting the better of me. A wave of dread washed over me as I recalled my friend's state before we arrived. "Her wounds weren't...fatal or anything, were they?"

The froslass – Aemara – looked shocked. "N-not at all," she quickly responded, and I sighed, feeling considerably thankful. "However," she started, and I jerked my head to her immediately. She looked lost for the correct words. "She will not be out for a few more hours."

I nodded after feeling my shoulders drop and I popped my head around to see Shard sitting on a hay-covered bench in the section next to Zhol, his legs hanging over the side. He looked up. "And him?"

"Shardclaw will be fine," she told me, a weak smile brushing her face.

"Looks like getting to that river was a good idea," he admitted, giving me a graced nod.

"Y-yes, indeed." The froslass set down the object she'd been holding. "The cold slows the wound's developing process."

"Oh...and that's why your clinic is all...icy and freezing?" I questioned, not thinking of that till now. She nodded happily, and I copied her motion. "Anyway...can I go now?"

"Yes, you may go," she affirmed, and I was more than happy to begin my walk towards the exit. Thankfully the clinic had its own entrance (or exit, in my case) so I wasn't forced to cross her adjoined living area to escape. I came to a halt before entering the sunnier realm, and threw my head over my shoulders. From the angle I was at, only Zhol's feet and some of her arms and head could be seen. I felt my eyebrows fall. _'Sheesh... That left foot looks terrible... I really hope her injuries aren't too bad...'_

After wandering the premises for something to do and coming across Mynk, I strode to Habib's home by her recommendation. Only the slowqueen was home, and I sighed, wondering what she would issue me to do next. "Excuse me," I began after poking my head in. "I need something to do."

She pulled away from her bench, which Larse was on the other side of, and stated, "Oh! Hello, there. Would you like to come in?"

I wondered myself if I wanted to. "...Nah, I'm good here." I was about to repeat myself as she seemed to realise why I was there.

"Oh, the hunting trip... How unfortunate." She looked as if she was searching her mind when Mynk appeared beside me.

"Oh, hey again."

"Hi, Dusty." She turned to Ikari. "We will set out immediately."

"W...where are you going?" I wondered, hoping not to be left alone.

Ikari answered my question as she got my attention. "They will be going hunting as a replacement for your group."

"Ahh..." I answered, hoping Ikari wasn't mad with us. After all...it's not like it was our fault.

"I'm also ready," mentioned someone from behind, and I turned to see none other than Azure. I flinched at the sight of her, but she didn't, as she'd have seen me from behind.

"Good," Ikari replied happily with a nod.

"But, Dame Slowqueen," the linoone started, shuffling through the door. She continued as I looked to Azure.

"...What happened...to your group?" she asked awkwardly, and I wasn't sure how to reply. Was she being patronising after seeing my battle wounds, or was she actually interested in what happened to us? I decided the most likely answer was that she wanted to know the reason she was being sent out in our place.

"Well...a random group of wild pokémon decided we were their enemies," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "It was weird. They attacked us out of the blue."

Before Azure had a chance to reply and right before I remembered that there was something important I had to ask her, I was addressed, and responded with the turn of my head. "There is a very important task I can give you," the pink pokémon told me. I felt a smile poke me in the mouth, and I wondered what kind of special mission I was going to be assigned to. "Do you have experience with young pokémon?"

**ooo**

A body thudded against the wet ground, and a whimper emitted from the brown pokémon's mouth. It was a question if anyone could really take him seriously though, since the large buck teeth he possessed were often classed as comical. "I-I'm sorry! I don't know!"

A tiny rounded body stood firmly at his feet, overlooking the bibarel. "Not good enough," he tormented, his eyes lighting up and a purple outline beginning to border the cowering dual type.

The Mr. Mime rolled his eyes, sighing placidly and making a clicking sound with his cheeks. "You'll have to do better than that," he shrugged while pacing. He moved his head. "'Cause otherwise it'll show up on that lovely lardy body of yours."

"Dontcha mean there'll be no body left for anything to show up on?" questioned the togepi, a malicious laugh making its way from his tiny mouth. The psychic type nearby chuckled in response.

"Yes..." He gave a sigh and turned to exit. He appeared outside, glancing to the transparent box of helpless captives as they squirmed for freedom. His eyes fell to the ivysaur standing guard, and asked, "Anything?"

The grass and poison type shook his head. "No, Shaz. Nothing." He looked to his right as if it was to pretend he was distracted.

"Oh?" Shaz scanned his near-invisible walls. "Nothing...at all?"

"N-no. Apart from what we already know—that they came through here." The ivysaur looked down, muttering, "S-sorry," unsure if that was an appropriate response or not.

"It's not your fault, kid," replied the psychic type, placing a hand on his accomplice's head. He was about to disappear through the entrance to the leader's lodge when he stopped. "...I want you to investigate something for me," he requested, sinking as his knees bent. The ivysaur was wondering and curious as he held a small mouth. "I want you to find out who else talked with them. And...use any means necessary of making them talk."

He nodded hesitantly, exposing his vines as if for confidence. "Y-yes, Shaz."

The Mr. Mime's eyes fogged over with malicious intent, and he smiled, patting the ivysaur's head. "Good boy."

**ooo**

I've been a trainer pokémon my whole life. From the moment I could fight, I participated in battle after battle, striving for greatness to impress my master and weave into the spot of her favourite. On occasion she and I travelled through rough plains, Izante and her trainer there to keep us company, and I would fight off wild pokémon and harsh weather. I was a qualified warrior with high endurance and a sturdy work ethic.

Regarding that... In all honesty I had not expected to be assigned...to this. After being sent on a dangerous hunting mission, it was my duty to do something I'd never conquered before. It was the second task of my stay at the colony...and it was to babysit?

"Play with us, Miss Flareon!" droned a small child—Mynk's daughter. She tugged on my mane with her stubby paws, and I pulled away, grimacing at her.

"Watch the fur!" I growled, and she stopped to stare. I nearly felt bad before she recoiled and came straight back.

"Mosst is hogging the climbing tree!" whined a small orange pokémon with blue fins on his forearms.

"N-no, I'm not," protested a little heracross, shyly keeping her distance and stepping away from the trunk.

"Uh oh," uttered a meditite, "I did an oopsie..." His face looked as if it had caught on fire as he blushed, and I didn't even want to KNOW what an 'oopsie' was.

One spinarak stared intrusively at my tuft and asked, "Why is it so floppy?"

"You smell funny," pointed out a rude aipom.

"Why are you so fat?" I was poked by that same buizel.

"IT'S _FUR_!" I shouted, causing the little one to hide behind a stump.

"Were you the one on the ship?" inquired a shuppet, and with an effort I ignored him.

I flung my head to a, "Can you teach us kung fu?"

"I don't know kung fu!" I shouted, sending the offspring floating away in a river of tears. "Ugh..."

"Help me clean my toes!" yelled another, shoving a foot in my face.

"NO!" I rumbled, finding the very thought disgusting as I swatted the limb from my view.

"What happened to your tail?" wondered an oddish, and I almost fried him, but he ran off before I could.

"Did you have to go to the healing clinic?"

"I WANT TO BURY YOU!" exclaimed an excited gligar, clinging to a stump.

"What's wrong with your ear?" a plusle questioned, and when she stood on her friend's head to touch my bullet wound, I happened to realise and spun around, scaring her from her place.

Someone from the other side of me asked, "Where's Uncle Luck?"

My face became a wrinkled mess as I hissed my reply. "Leave me...a—"

"I made you a mud pie!" someone else sung, presenting a glob of mud in their filthy paws.

"I falled over and hurted my tail!" complained a random azurill.

"My wing hurts more," insisted an attention-seeking taillow, and I roared, explaining – rather loudly – that a scratch is nothing, and she should be thankful that I wasn't eating her at the present moment... She flew to the other end of the daycare grounds.

"Excuse me," interrupted yet another brat, and I began to wonder if they were ever going to SHUT UP, "can you help me make a sandcastle?"

I drilled my violent glare into the yellow pokémon's seemingly closed eyes and watched him become shocked. "MAKE YOUR OWN BLOOMIN' SANDCASTLE," I began, feeling flames lick my throat. "Aren't abra supposed to sleep for eighteen hours of the day?"

That one scurried off too, so I was only left with only...oh, TWENTY BA-JILLION. Realising this, I upped and fled, darting to the end of the grounds—the end Mynk and I had shared our discussion near. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw, thankfully, too many obstacles obscuring my vision for a sight of the frustrating kids...

"Excuse me," asked the pokémon I could see coming towards me, and I was relieved to finally come across another non-child. "Need some help?" It was the heracross...Yuka?

"YES," I responded dramatically, and he gave a chuckle.

"The name's Yukra," he added, and I shrugged. Nearly remembered it right.

"Dusty."

"Yeah, I know. You're the new kid on the block!" he teased, and I narrowed my eyes. But he chuckled once more, passing me with a playful nudge. I heaved a sigh, and if I had a FULL TAIL I'd have flicked its end in agitation.

He plodded in front of me as I dragged myself behind him, appearing before the lot of partially confused – but otherwise absent-minded – small pokémon. "Not again..."

The heracross turned to me, giving a warm smile. "Come on. They're not hard to manage."

I dug my paws into the soil. "They're little horrors! And they won't leave me alone."

He chuckled and navigated his way through the bunch. I noticed as some stared timidly as I followed, and I just sighed, focusing my gaze somewhere else. We walked between structures and random sections before coming to a large tree whose branches stretched widely above and reached unexpected lengths throughout the grounds. "Mosst! Come here; I want to introduce you to someone," Yukra explained, and a heracross crawled out from behind a tree, a shred of bark between her paws. She timidly shielded herself with Yukra's sturdy legs, and he tossed a glance down his side, her eyes meeting his. "This is our new friend." He raised a claw at me. "Say hello."

With what I could see was courage, the dark blue pokémon first contemplated her stance, and secondly she began, "H...hello." Once that was over she took cover behind the safety of his legs again, and honesly I didn't know how to react. Clearly if I made too big of a movement she'd probably scurry away and never talk to me again, and I wasn't sure if I thought she was a bit overdramatic for reacting how she did or not. Perhaps she's just shy?

"Nice to meet you," I replied, nodding and staying put. If I created distance between us, she wouldn't feel like I'm intruding. There was no change about her, however.

"Okay, you can go now," Yukra offered innocently, and the smaller heracross seemed hesitant at first, but then decided that her feet were to remain firmly planted. I wasn't surprised: Yukra seemed like a very hardy pokémon and an appropriate protector. "Or...stay here."

It nearly made me smile, the sight of father and daughter. "...Your kid's cute."

Yukra was nearly taken aback by my statement, and in response I eyed him strangely. "No, she's not my daughter," he stated, shaking his horn.

"Then...whose is she?"

"My sister's," he told me, and my immediate thoughts were questions about how many of these colony members had adopted smaller pokémon—from relatives or not.

Very softly the small bug type spoke up. "Mummy and Daddy are on holidays in the forest." She stole an avoidant glance from her uncle, and I cocked my head.

"So you're looking after...Mosst until they return?" I asked, realising it made sense.

He gave a mixed expression. "It's...a bit complicated." He met his niece's eyes and added, "Yeah. That's basically it."

**ooo**

I'd very quickly accepted Yukra's offer to join me for the rest of the day, since it meant I wasn't left alone with a thousand crazy brats, and it actually hadn't been too bad. He'd shown me around and told me a few things about it. "They were so jumpy and persistent because they haven't been able to warm to a care taker in a while."

"What about Wynore?" I had asked as we padded between little pokémon swinging and playing, chatting and running. Mosst was latched onto Yukra's back, her arms hooked around his shoulders and her legs hugging his shell.

"I assume you noticed that she's been acting...not herself lately."

"Well, I've never met her before this, so I wouldn't know how she is...as herself."

The heracross had given me a look, and then he'd withdrawn it again. "She's only this way because ol' Lucky isn't around." A nearby rock took flight as his foot slammed into its middle, and I'd nearly flinched. "It means she sometimes has breakdowns, and for a short time the kids have nobody to look after them."

At that stage I'd been surprised by how much bitterness stained his words, and I wondered what it was directed at. I figured it must have been the general fact of things going wrong, or it was possible he resented Wynore for her apparent uncontrollable action. Whatever it was he didn't reveal.

By the time every parent turned up to retrieve their young it was sunset, and that too hadn't lasted long. Currently I sat outside the healing clinic, waiting for Aemara to emerge and let me in. For some reason she had told me to wait until I was granted permission, and although that made me feel like I was taking orders from a stranger who didn't have the right, I obliged and took a seat on the soil.

At least ten minutes had passed, and I sat twiddling my toes as several thoughts crossed my mind. Before taking on the unwanted mission of babysitting, Ikari had mentioned some kind of 'colony meeting' which apparently took place in a section of their land I'd seen before. It was before Den Row and between the lake and the fruit shed, and it was basically a clearing with logs centred around a campfire (which hadn't been lit), so I assumed we were supposed to sit on the logs and have a discussion around the fire. I couldn't say I was looking forward to it, but it sounded better than babysitting!

My wait dragged on until my ears pricked to a series of thuds, and it took me not long to determine that somebody was approaching. I whirled around to have my view obstructed by Shardclaw, who came to a halt behind me. Uncomfortably he took his place opposite me and we sat in silence.

I looked up after a while and caught his eyes darting from mine. I let a sigh warm my paws and he seemed to notice. "...Here to see Zhol?"

He appeared surprised to find that I was speaking to him, and made a hesitant nodding gesture. "Y-yeah..."

We kept silent for moments longer before I finally asked, "Were your injuries bad?"

"...Not really," he muttered, avoiding my gaze. "A-a few scratches...burns along my back..."

"Guess your armour prevents serious injuries," I mentioned, figuring that to be the reason he was practically unscathed by the boulders. I recognised the shallow gashes left by the two nutzo sandslash and I knew of the burns that were spread up his back and at the start of his wings. Apart from that all that seemed apparent was the collection of ancient scars which clearly weren't fresh.

"Not all...but most," he replied, glancing down his right – well, his left and my right – side where the scarring was most visible. It almost looked as if someone had attempted to fry him once before, rather than rip him to pieces. There were claw and tooth marks, however, yet I couldn't help but suspect that fire had seared his armour long ago.

"So, do you know why those pokémon just decided to show up and ambush us?" I questioned. It was likely he didn't but anything would be better than no answer at all.

"I'm afraid I cannot give you an answer," the scyther replied solemnly, and I rolled my eyes, figuring that was typical. "Yet I find it extremely odd," he mused, eying the ground before looking to me, then to a rock, then back to me.

"Aren't you friends with your neighbours?" I asked with a shrug.

"They...aren't exactly neighbouring pokémon..." he mumbled. "Some of the pokémon here might know the ones living in that area." He drew a long breath as if to settling himself, and added, "Though I can't be sure."

I never knew much about neighbours myself, being a traveller my entire life, but I figured them to be friends of some sort. Going ahead and doing some sort of research would be beneficial and after my visit to my sneasel friend, I decided that, avoiding any other unwanted tasks, I could interview some of the colony's pokémon to find answers.

"What strikes me as strange," Shard began, and I turned to him again, not realising he had more to say. He seemed hesitant as he met my eyes. "Is that...after Zhol and I were attacked by a numel and a sandshrew, they had an advantage. Zhol's foot had become wedged between the two sections in the ground, and my burns were fresh. Yet they...left."

At first I had no idea what he meant by that, and I tilted my head. "...Waddaya mean?"

"The sandshrew was headed directly towards Zhol, and although I was too distracted to see everything, I caught enough to know he didn't attack her while she was stuck. Then he sped past her curled as a ball and made his way to the rock ledge. He bowled some light rocks from the cliff edge, and they were easy to dodge, but by the time he stopped I noticed the numel beside him." I titled my head as he continued, his face etched with concern and perplexity. "The rocks were a distraction for the numel to climb the ledges and get to where the sandshrew was, and then...they left. Not long after that you met up with us."

As much as this puzzled me as well, I wasn't exactly interested in sifting through details of the unknown. "Weird..." I left it at that and bother not to ponder it further. Changing the subject after a minute of no conversation, I queried, "How long have you known her?" At first he looked a little lost, at which point I decided to add, "Zhol," and he gave a nod of recognition.

"It's been...years now. Ever since she began living here as a young sneasel," he answered, the awkward feeling slowly slipping from between us.

"Oh...okay." As much as I was yearning to ask him how Zhol wound up at the colony, somehow I picked it as something that I would need to ask the sneasel herself. "Well..." I sighed, figuring I should save it for Zhol. I switched to a new question instead. "Care to...tell me your story?"

The scyther visibly flinched and I watched his wings sink. I came to wonder if I had asked the wrong thing, but it was wiped away as Aemara suddenly floated from her ice den after removing the thick, nicely fitting door with presumable psychic powers. I wasn't aware she was part psychic type, and I came to the conclusion that she was also an ice type.

"O-oh, Shardclaw," she began, clearly surprised to see him.

"Hello, Aemara," he replied respectfully, bopping his head to her.

"And you." She smiled and turned to me, and I stood up.

"Can I see Zhol now?" I stared at her, the anticipation killing me as the opposing pokémon said nothing. "...Can I?"

"Y-yes. However..." She trailed off and I nearly went in, but a blade suddenly appeared and I followed it back to Shard's wary and disapproving face. He flicked his eyes to the ice and psychic type, leading me to do the same, and I exhaled. "She will need an escort everywhere she walks."

To this news I lowered an eyebrow, wondering for what possible reason that would need to happen. "Why?"

"Her injuries are too great for her to rely only on her own strength. She will need others to support her."

I gasped, remembering the state of that foot after I had returned from my encounter with the hoity-toity houndoom and his haughty heroics. No wonder she would have trouble walking... Her foot had looked ruined and completely unfit for using for support, and now that I thought about it, it had definitely affected her gait on our way to the colony.

Suddenly I felt worried. She couldn't be seriously injured...could she? "L-let me in."

The froslass complied and allowed me passage into her clinic, the chill that spiked every section of the air catching me off guard. However, it was nothing compared to the sight of an incapacitated Zhol lying feebly on an elevated mat of hay. "Zhol!" I squeaked, not expecting to see her in such a state. I padded, my head level with my shoulders, to her table and couldn't help but sniff wearily. I closed the distance between us and swallowed. "Zhol?"

"Y-you shouldn't wake her!" insisted Aemara as she floated in alongside Shard, but I clenched my jaws and pretended I knew better.

With a moan and a flicker of her eyelids, the sneasel came to life and edged her head towards me. Much to my surprise, she gave a somewhat soft smile. It almost seemed as if she was relieved to see me.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked, trying to reflect her expression.

She gripped the edge of the bench with her right paw and pressed against the hay, her whole body rising. The other arm extended to her left foot as she seemed to inspect it, her claws touching the well-wrapped bandages. By this time her smile had thinned out, and her expression was that of conscientiousness and uncertainty. Her eyes fell to her torso, where the other pieces of cloth had been tied in the spot shallow gashes had previously scattered her skin. A thousand thoughts looked to be zipping back and forth through her mind, and honestly I hadn't a clue of what her opinion on the material was. "Thank you, Aemara," she finally mentioned, though not making eye contact with the floating pokémon. She didn't sound too enthused, however, and I wondered if she really meant it.

"I-it's my duty," Aemara replied with a bit of a smile. "Please don't overwork yourself. I suggest staying with the colony for the next week or two."

At this Zhol almost jumped; clearly she hadn't expected such a piece of news. Her brow furrowed as Shard stepped closer. "Your wounds are too great for you to be up and participating in something such as hunting or battling. It...would be foolish to expose yourself to more danger and risk an infection of some sort, or to have your wounds struggle to heal." The scyther seemed to droop as he explained, and I could only guess he was disappointed or empathetic. My eyes scanned his left side quickly before averting to Zhol.

The sneasel stiffened as she absorbed what flew to her ears, and I continued to stare as I took it upon myself to add something else she would need to be aware of. "...Also, uhh..." I searched for the right words as she waited expectantly, all cheer ridden from her solemn eyes. "Well, you won't be able to walk...without help." I signalled to her crumpled foot as she followed, then met me at my spot again. I averted my accusing stare to Aemara, and she perked up, ready to listen. "Hey, can't we give her crutches or something?" At first the other three stared at me blankly, and it was then that I realised that was a human term. "You know...a piece of wood like a walking stick that she can lean on for support?"

Aemara pondered before saying, "I'm afraid that will be difficult for Zhol to hold." She looked to the sneasel's paws. "Given she does not have thumbs..."

"Well then...secure her paw to it with something. Or put a hole in the wood somewhere where her paw can rest."

"...I'm afraid it's not that simple," Aemara replied, trailing off. I knew she was resistant to create an argument of any sort, so I left it at that and merely rolled my eyes.

"Well..." Zhol looked to me. "I...I know it's a l—"

"It's fine," she intervened, staring back at her foot. I could tell she was avoiding tension between us as she kept her eyes fixed, and she must have found it easier to suppress her feelings if she wasn't connecting with someone at that moment. "It was foolish of me to be so reckless."

Suddenly I felt myself relax and tense up immediately after. I raised my cheeks, but I was not smiling. "You're...blaming yourself?" I questioned, finding the thought rather absurd. Especially when she had no control over the pokémon that did this to her, and it wasn't her who attacked first!

Her hardened expression slipped from her grasp as she looked back to me. It was as if she was at a loss for words. Whether she realised it or not was uncertain, and I had to wonder why she was so shocked that I would point it out. My question hung in the air as she returned to her foot and asked, "Is the colony meeting soon?"

Having ignored my question, I ignored hers and let Shard answer. "Yes. As a hunter, you'll need to attend."

"As a member of the colony, you have to attend," someone corrected rather matter-of-factly, and all four of us turned to the entrance. "Hey, Aemara."

"Tarla," the froslass beamed, her mood immediately brightening as she identified her visitor.

"Oh," I grumbled inaudibly, "you." The altaria's appearance certainly didn't excite me, and frankly I would have preferred not to have seen her.

"Yes, I'm aware," Zhol responded without particular hostility; it sounded as if the sneasel had enough respect for the flying and dragon type to address her without attitude. For some reason I'd assumed she wouldn't have liked her, but I supposed that was my job.

"Here to tell you that the colony meet will be held after nightmeal." She nodded her head to Aemara, the froslass repeating the motion politely in return, and the intruder was out in a flash.

The silence returned to prod us in the backs before we looked to one another, and Shard focused his gaze on Zhol. "Would you like me to assist you?"

Zhol remained focused on her foot before she released her frown and nodded. The scyther made a swift movement to the side of the bench, seemingly unfazed by the burns stretched up his back, and held his scythes normally out in front of him as Zhol swung her legs over the side. She dropped to the floor and kept one foot off the ground, bending her left paw's claws over the top of his scythe as a means of gripping it. She showed a weak smile before they began walking, her paw pressing down as her available foot hopped forward. The bug and flying type was clearly dealing without a problem as the added pressure to his supported scythe did him no disservice, and the duo made it to the exit without a hiccup. Shard pushed the door open with his shoulder, making his way out first, and held open the door while supporting the smaller sneasel at the same time.

Aemara smiled and turned to me as I strode forwards, slightly confused. I hadn't helped her at all, and she seemed too occupied to see if I was following... I shook my head and paced forward, a timid voice catching my attention before I was within a metre of the doorway.

"E-excuse me," Aemara began, moving around to my left, "but... Your hollow wound." She moved her sleeve-like hand to point it at my thigh. "...May I ask how you got it?"

It took me no longer than a moment to figure she was referring to my bullet wound, and I knew she must have realised it was less than fresh, and therefore it couldn't have happened during today's fight. She flashed her eyes to my ear and it was obvious she knew of my ear's problem as well.

"Uhh... I'll explain...later," I answered, feeling as if I was in the wrong position to talk about the ship and the events that took place. I figured I'd tell everyone at once, perhaps even at the colony meet if it was convenient.

The froslass wasn't overly thrilled with my answer, as she was presumably concerned, but she could wait. As could everyone else I'd briefly told about the ship and why their colony members were missing.

The question I wanted to ask was why. Why was I the one to tell everyone and blabber on about the awful things that happened to us? _'I guess I took on the responsibility the moment I decided to take matters into my own paws...'_ I scowled and turned away. _'It's unfair...' _

Strutting from the icy den, I stepped into the fresh air once more. Night was swelling and would soon engulf us all; everything had changed colour and the atmosphere was beginning to quieten. This would mean fewer distractions for when I relayed the anecdote...

I froze. I blinked. I felt a terrible pain extend through my stomach. _'Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, sh**.'_ I heard Aemara ask me if I was alright before I bit down and tensed my paws.

Not only would I have to tell the colony that their members were captured and about to be shipped off to some Team Rocket Headquarters, but...I'd have to tell them that one of them was murdered. That Luck was murdered.

_'How the HELL am I going to do that...?'_


	20. Chapter Twenty: Stories

**Chapter Twenty: Stories**

I knew.

I _knew_ I would have to tell them eventually. I just didn't know when or _how_ I'd do it. It wouldn't seem like a big deal to someone who lacked my position in the matter...but this would be hard. Harder than returning matted fur to a pristine condition, and harder than admitting to myself that I was the cause of his death. That was another thing. What would I say? That he was killed while battling the garchomp? Luck was strong... I wouldn't know how many pokémon would believe me._ 'Should I tell them the truth? That I caused his demise? Or force them to believe a lie that's convenient for me?'_

"You planning on eating that?" asked a pokémon, and I was dragged from the depths of my thoughts and back to reality.

I stared back at a navy blue face and squeezed my eyelids together. "Uhh...y-yeah."

"Just checkin'," he responded coolly, fitting a stem into his mouth and pulling it out with not a trace of the previously attached berries.

I looked to my own dessert; a pair of ripe berries laid untouched a few hairs from my paws. I didn't know if I really did want them or not. "Actually...here," I offered, giving them a light budge with a paw to my left.

"Cheers!" Yukra grinned from the log next to me as he reached down, bits of pecha berry between his teeth. I gave a small chuckle and turned away.

Most of the colony sat in a circular formation on – or in front of – the designated logs. I found it both difficult and uncomfortable to sit on mine, so I was seated in front of it. The fire was the only thing that kept me there. Zhol sat with Shard a few places up, causing the void between me and the colony to seem even larger. I didn't feel...like I fitted in with them properly. They all seemed so well placed, and me... I was a stranger in their eyes, just like they were to me. I kept my head down as feelings of dread taunted me with their fluffy tails.

"Anyone got a scary story?" Yukra inquired after swallowing his first bite into the fruit I gave him. Most of the idle chatting subsided as all eyes fell to the heracross, and I sank, undesiring of so many gazes. "Anyone?"

"I'm surprised you haven't!" chuckled a low voice. I laid eyes on a large pokémon easily twice my height, although much broader. I hadn't seen him before that moment, as the yellow and ebony pokémon hadn't shown himself prior to the colony meet. Clearly I hadn't been around long, and I reasoned with myself, figuring it wasn't strange to see new colony members after only one day—and not even a full one at that.

"I'm fresh out!" laughed Yukra, and I somehow seemed to be missing the humour.

"Krinn, I bet you have one!" shouted a rattata tyke—presumably Hyso and Gigin's male.

The electric pokémon gave another chuckle in response, his orange eyes shimmering in the light of the fire. He moved two powerful-looking arms and placed a black finger on the tip of his chin as he seemed to rummage through his brain.

My eyes trailed down his legs, which had two dark stripes each, and his sturdy black feet with intimidating claws. The way he sat reminded me of Master, although his head had fur rolling off both cheeks, thus obscuring any trace of a neck and leaving a gap for his teeth to show when he smiled.

As he turned back to the heracross seated next to me, an idea looked to have eased its way into his head. "I did hear one story recently..." he began, the two pipes tipped with red points attached to his back swaying while he transferred his weight to his legs. He took a step toward the fire. "It was a dark and rainy night when two siblings, a plusle and minun were walking through a deserted forest." The electivire tilted his head, staring at the heart of the raging fire before flicking his eyes to those crowded around.

"Ooh, I know this!" Yukra exclaimed, leaping from his log and buzzing over to his friend. He landed and grabbed the air with his claws, dragging his hand diagonally. "Lighting streaked the sky and the rain was endless. It was too dark to see much at all, and only the outlines of trees showed up to the pokémon's eyes."

Krinn stepped away from Yukra, sticking close to the fire as he continued. "Nobody else was around, and the only sounds were those the storm created, and the two creatures whimpering as they tried to remember the way home. 'Plusle, we're lost!' Minun cried as she heard another crack of thunder."

"Plusle tried to be brave as he spotted a tall tree with a hollow at the base and said, 'L-let's take cover in that tree trunk.' So they went to the tree and ducked into the hole."

"They waited for_ hours_," Krinn continued, his back to the fire as he circled it, eying the baby pokémon huddling against their parents, "and suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder!"

Yukra jumped forward, frightening Mio and Ollie as Greech tried to keep his cool. Krinn smiled, continuing, "Everything went white for a split second before a tree came crashing down and landed just outside their hiding spot! They were almost trapped, but luckily there was a small gap at the top of the hole in their tree. They climbed through that and landed on the fallen tree. Minun began to cry, and Plusle kept trying to tell her that everything would be okay..."

"But just as Minun was settling down, pairs of glowing eyes started to appear from every direction. They began to hear growling, and suddenly a shadowy figure appeared between the trees on top of a nearby hill, and Plusle began to shake." The heracross lifted the shell on his back and his wings began to vibrate. I assumed he was creating an intense atmosphere. "He mustered his courage and yelled, 'Who are you?' But he didn't receive an answer. The sky released another thunderbolt, lighting the figure's face and revealing his species: a gengar."

Krinn's body exploded as a powerful shockwave shot towards the clouds, vaporising as it found nowhere to go. The colony members nearly leapt from their places, and even I felt my fur bristle as I suffered a jolt of surprise.

Yukra grinned and kept his voice low. "The gengar was gone in another flash of lightning, and Minun hugged her brother in fright. Both pokémon looked for the ghost type, but neither found anything. Until..."

"The gengar popped up beside them, scaring them out of their wits!" Krinn yelped, both he and Yukra making sudden and unexpected movements. By this time the electivire had rounded the fire to my side, where he locked his eyes with mine, sending an uncomfortable chill down my spine. "He showed his teeth in a smile and said, 'You look lost,' and vanished again... He reappeared on their other side and asked, 'How about coming to my cave, where you'll be out of this wretched rain?'"

"No! Don't do it!" cried the baby rattata again. "He's a bad pokémon!" Yukra moved his gaze to the little purple and tan pokémon, clearly glad to have him so involved. Krinn also moved on, spooking the pokémon to my right as he continued to move around the fire at a slow pace.

"Plusle wanted to say no, but he didn't have any other choice. He didn't want to be eaten by the red-eyed creatures, and a cave sounded like a perfect place to take shelter from the storm. So he said yes, and the gengar grinned again, and started leading them away from the log..."

"No, no!" protested the small rattata once more, and I found myself wondering how such a story would wind up.

"So...just like the gengar promised, they came to a cave. Minun and Plusle both went in, and suddenly the cave door shut behind them!"

"BOOM!" Yukra thundered, expanding his wings and his shell at the same time as he extended his arms.

Several screams echoed from the smaller pokémon's mouths, as well as older ones, and luckily the only reaction I had was a mere flinch. It was a full-body flinch, but still just a flinch.

"They tried to get back out, but a large rock sealed their exit. Then, as they turned around, those red eyes began to appear again, all flashing as they closed in on Plusle and Minun. Both pokémon screamed and tried using their electric attacks, but they did no harm as the evil pokémon shook it off. They banged against the rock again, but nothing happened, and nobody could hear their cries for help. There was no escape!"

Krinn crackled once more, sending bolts of electricity over the audience members' heads. Then all quietened down, the sizzling of the fire and the faint swaying of the trees the single sounds. "...Plusle and Minun were never seen again, but some say their spirits still wonder the caves in search of a way out..."

The silence hovered as the storytellers ceased their movement, and an intense feeling snaked between each pokémon seated around the bonfire. Some stared while others gaped; a select few seemed unaffected, such as the sceptical and cloudy bird of prey. I noticed a lot of the young swallow; I also noticed their numbers had decreased by over half. It was a major relief, but I wondered where the others were. As well as who their parents all were, considering I had not seen many pokémon whose species were related to the majority of the daycare kids.

"The end," Yukra simply stated, thudding casually to his seat. Krinn did the same, and I was kind of confused. The ending was so abrupt, as well as the sense-making factor being low. Pokémon with glowing red eyes? A gengar whose reason as the story's villain was not apparent? I wanted to know how the plusle and minun got there, and why they were alone. However, most of the colony didn't seem to care about such things. I guessed that, legitimate or not, these 'scary stories' were purely for entertainment.

Response chat commenced, at first being uttered between the odd couple, and eventually expanded to nearly every pokémon's mouth. I heard comments such as, "That was scary!" and "Did they...get...get eaten?" I rolled my eyes, figuring most of the comments came from the little ones.

I hardly noticed as Zhol excused herself and requested to be taken back to her quarters in Aemara's clinic. Shard and Yukra offered, and they both returned shortly after, taking their seats again as if they'd never moved.

After a while everyone seemed to settle down once Habib initiated more silence. He had stood up, being a few spaces from me, and addressed everyone. "I would like to focus now on the reason for this colony meet." All eyes became fixed on him, and it was almost inspiring to see that the lickitung had everyone's complete attention without so much as a single request. "We have a guest staying with us for a while. One who's come from all around the regions. Recently she experienced an event most other pokémon would not even imagine would happen to them..." He shifted himself to face me completely, and I did the same without realising. "I would like to introduce you all to Dusty the flareon." He gestured towards me with a pink arm, and I flinched as I realised the entire colony – or, all who were there, at least – had its eye on me. It seemed as if even the dens were watching with intense interest, and I shuddered at the trickling gazes skimming my back like a hairy spider.

"Uhh... Hi, everybody..." I swallowed, awkward silence stretching out and setting up a mound of grass. As it sunk down and relaxed, I came to the assumption that it wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. I looked up, figuring the reason they continued to stare was because I was failing to entertain them. I decided a question-and-answer session was appropriate. "If anyone has questions..." I began, implying that I would answer them.

Nobody spoke for a few moments before that altaria fluttered from her perch and squawked, "How long are you staying?" in a rather demanding and intrusive manner.

I sneered and answered, "I'll let you know when I _can_." Realising I came across as rude, I shook my mane and forced a failing smile. "...Next question?"

"I-if you don't mind my asking," started another pokémon, and I spotted Aemara as she passed the fire, "is it possible to tell us more of the human transport...that I understand you were on?"

I knew it would get to this eventually. I supposed the whole 'question and answer' thing was going to turn out differently to how I imagined if someone was to ask about the ship...and someone had. Several pokémon's eyes widened, and it was clear they also desired answers.

"If it's alright," Shard interrupted, my eyes flicking to his, "I would like to know what happened as well."

"Yes," Habib stepped in, "the Rokont Organisation has had recent activity, or so the rumours say."

I wasn't sure who to answer first, so I turned to the giant lickitung and swallowed. "Team Rocket...was their name." A wave of tingles washed over me, nervousness gripping my scruffy mane.

"Hmm..." he mused, a paw on his chin. "Team Rocket..."

The unceasing gazes wavering through my eyes gave me a strange sense of responsibility, and I felt the need to explain myself. After all, keeping my lips sealed only meant more procrastination – which I usually don't bother about – making matters worse for myself, and possibly conveyed the message that I was hiding something, or that a terrible occurrence kept me reluctant to speak. Whichever it was, the fact still stood: they had a right to know what happened to Luck, as well as every other pokémon whose lives were altered for the worse. How I was to do it was unknown at that moment, but it had to be said. And I had to be the one to say it.

"Y' see..." I swallowed, hooking my memory and dragging it into the past to recall the recent events still so clear in my mind. "It began...for me...when my trainer and I were battling another trainer. Of course, my ally was my best—" Something must have lodged itself between my wind pipes for a moment, as my voice had stopped there, and I reconsidered. "...My friend, a leafeon called Izante, and her trainer was my trainer's, um...best friend." I closed my eyes for seconds before continuing. "After the battle, the golem we'd been battling told me some strange things, and I didn't know what he meant. Izante had the opinion that he was just crazy. Later we..." I grew a tiny smile, lost in thought as I remembered how oblivious I still was. "Izante and I went for a swim... Hah, she told me to stop being a torchic and to just...swim. She was circling me like swimming's the easiest thing in the world, but...she knew I couldn't do it." My smile lasted as I strayed off course, but the eyes asking for more snapped me out of my reminiscing. "Anyway...we were attacked by what we thought was a stray armaldo, but it turned out that he was a Team Rocket human's pokémon.

"He took us back to a campsite where we were caged, and soon we found ourselves on the move for a good three days and nights..." I shuffled the harmless soil over my left paw with my right, watching as the orange fur strands became a hue of brown. "Then we were loaded onto a ship in different compartments, and none of us knew where we were going... None of us knew how to escape; the cages were immune to our powers." The fire coughed, regaining itself shortly after, spraying a shower of embers which barely touched those around it. I was suddenly reminded of the many fires that lit our paths when we used to travel, and warmed us on chilly nights... They brought us together; we would all crowd around them and rely on them for our survival. I always lit them, and the combination of that and their importance was what made me feel as though I was really wanted... That I was essential to my master, and even to Izante, who I believed really needed me... I cringed, clenching my fangs and shaking my head.

"And we were put in cages that wouldn't break..." Realising I'd already mentioned that, a frown shaped my brow, and I rethought. "But then a quilava broke out of his cage, and...and I don't know how, but he...yeah, he broke out..." I heard someone draw a sharp breath through their nostrils, but I wasn't sure which pokémon was the culprit. "So...his friend had some blast seeds that he snuck in, and he used them to blow holes in the cages where the locks were... It didn't take us long to discover that our attacks dealt damage from the outside, and soon enough all the pokémon were free..." I continued to explain that a plan was devised and that eventually a war had commenced. I even mentioned the pokémon I met, including...Luck. Someone had asked who it was that issued the plan for freedom, and I was momentarily stumped. It was hard to answer... Although I was supposedly the hero, something felt wrong... So I simply replied with, "A pokémon from my crate."

I paused while explaining the garchomp's appearance, and didn't mention the internal cargo hold. I also skipped the trivial things, such as my arguments and the battle with Azure, and only included the gun part to glorify Larse, who smiled politely as I did so.

"Dusty," Shard interrupted in a calm and solemn tone as I had stopped, "what happened to Luck?"

This was it. The section of the story I wanted to avoid, but obviously it was inevitable.

They had to know. I had to tell them. That moment was what the conversation had boiled down to. They'd been dying to know since I first arrived, and I'd been frightened to tell them. "Luck..." I started, drilling my glare into the earth. "He..." I moistened my lips with my tongue, my breathing pace increasing. "He fought the garchomp with me." I could sense the surprise that heightened the tension surrounding us, but I pressed on. "He fought the garchomp, and he saved me more than once. The last time he saved me, he...he..."

My gaze connected with every pokémon staring at me... Some I didn't recognise, but others I knew personally. Their eyes were innocent... Sorrow already clouded their vision; the story of a pokémon stolen away from her trainer and thrown into the hands of those reckless and uncaring would tear anyone's heart to pieces. Mynk seemed hurt in many ways; maybe she was envisioning herself or her child going through the same process. I imagined my trainer felt the same way about me as Mynk felt about her daughter... After all, Master raised me. She taught me nearly everything I knew... I had also spotted Wynore and her teddiursa. That cub was as much Luck's as she was Wynore's, and the notion of becoming fatherless so early in her life was painful even to me, someone who barely even knew the family...

Next, Shard's face haunted me. He appeared attached to Luck in some way or another, and he stood noble and tall as he awaited my answer. But...seeing his colony – his family – so expectant of his return and so already proud that he fought bravely to protect the lives of mostly those he hadn't an acquaintance with was heart-wrenching. I locked my jaws together as needles injected themselves into my body—first my head, then my chest. After that it pierced random places, including my wounds.

I ripped skin tissue from the inside of my mouth and chewed it frantically, my toes restless as they cleared the soil and scraped the earth. What sane pokémon wanted to reveal to someone's family that their close friend was dead? More seriously, that their close friend had been _murdered_? And that the culprit was some demon pokémon whose soul seemed not to be present, and whose heart was tainted by the shady colours of death? Was it supposed to be easy? I wasn't going to wake from some kind of nightmare, but I feared I'd cause the colony pokémon to plunge into a nightmare of their own; if Luck, a strong and courageous pokémon, was killed so easily, how long would it take for the rest of the colony to have its members stolen away and extinguished once more? What if the ship was rebuilt and Team Rocket returned for bitter revenge? And it would have been my fault, obviously, since I initiated the plan. And when that time would flood into action, more innocent pokémon would be ripped from all they knew because of me.

Before anyone else could speak, I made the decision to finish what I started. "Luck...fled." I forced my jaws shut, one of my fangs snagging a piece of skin and piercing it. I flinched at the sudden infliction of pain, and gave the backs of my eyelids a good, hard stare.

"He...fled?" replied Shard nearly incredulously, his frown telling me that he disbelieved the statement that much that it had to be a lie. "The last time he saved you, he fled?" At that moment I realised my sentence hadn't even made sense.

A stream of chatter snaked between the soil and touched every blade of squashed grass. The general tone suggested disappointment and as I turned to Wynore, a bitter tinge of shame glazed her eyes. I suddenly widened my own, realising how much of a disservice I was doing Luck, even in his deceased state. I was dishonouring him in one of the most degrading ways, which I know I definitely wouldn't have appreciated had he and I be in opposite positions. However, a sudden thought sprung from my mind, smacking me in the jaw with the power of realisation.

He wouldn't be so cowardly. He would have spoken the truth, however harsh, and he'd face the problem head on, arms strong and deception very last on his list. Yet I couldn't do it. It was too hard for me, but did that mean that the colony pokémon should suffer because of my personal issues? They would have to believe my every word – every letter that formed the words I spoke – because I was a witness. But what if the witness lies? Shall she be condemned until she comes clean, or should she uphold the lies for the sake of the dwindling hope alight in others? Was it hope...or a false belief only keeping them tied to the things of the past—the things they must learn to release?

"That's not like him," I heard a bewildered pokémon utter.

"Not like him at all..."

"W-WELL," I began just a little too loudly, "um, he... H-he, he didn't..._flee_... I-I mean... He, um... L-left with the other pokémon—that's right! He helped others get away..."

"While you...fought the monster?" Shard questioned with scepticism.

_'He's onto me,'_ I growled internally, almost wishing he would put his mind to rest. "Y-yes... There were others! To help me..." I swallowed, figuring I was less than convincing.

"Then...what happened?" he inquired warily.

"Look, it's...a bit blurry... I ran into Izante again and..." By this stage my gaze was pointed away from any pokémon and directed at a sad, flattened clump of grass. "And...that's when I learned of her _secret_." I began shaking my head, the defiance in my mind growing as I longed for it to be anything but true. "She's a Rocket pokémon."

More pokémon began murmuring after a moment of silence, the fire's crackling unresting. "No," responded the male raticate whose name escaped me, muttering to his mate shortly after.

"Well...this story beats ours," Yukra chuckled grimly, shrugging as Krinn did the same.

I was in the wrong mood to accept the humour, and curled my nose instead. "My best friend...a traitor," I continued, focusing on my paws as my vision grew blurrier. I wasn't sure who was listening if anyone at all was. "I was an idiot to be so ignorant... Blinded by friendship. What an _ugly_ thing," I spat, noticing droplets glistening on my collar of fur before they slipped and stamped circles into the soil. I wiped my eyes with my shoulder, standing and turning as the pokémon chattered in cautious manners. Voices began to dwindle as Mynk asked quietly why I was going – and where – and I neglected to face her as I contemplated a response. Nothing came, so I kept my mouth sealed and bounded over the log, gliding across the earth and occasionally pounding it with stressed paws.

With an aching heart and a guilty conscience, I melted between the trees into the dark forest, hearing one or two pokémon call after me. Their words meant nothing; I needed to flee. I had to escape the torment. Being around them was merely a reminder of my failed duties and my false, misleading information. I gritted my teeth and bound my eyes, leaving my trail of tears in my wake.

**ooo**

After stumbling over a fallen tree and rolling for a short time down one side of a hill, I came to a halt underneath a willow. I mumbled a line of annoyance before picking myself up and hobbling under its stick-thin boughs to its trunk; I had injured my leg during the fall, but it was nothing serious. I flexed my left knee once taking my place on the soil, and cringed as I felt a shot of pain spike my joint. "Looks like I won't be going anywhere..."

A hoothoot's evening chant rang out, bouncing off the trees until it came crashing to the ground. As the sound died away I realised just how silent it was. Going from chatter and a crackling fire to near-silence was somewhat of an abrupt change. However, silence was flattering. It calmed my nerves and stroked my conscience; for once I felt relaxed. It was nice to escape the commotion. Sometimes solitary time was necessary.

I heard a squeak and a tiny voice inquire, "What are you doing in my home?"

I spun around to face a pachirisu, her large tail slightly bristled and her face attempting to conceal the apparent fear. "Your home?" I tilted my head, viewing the dome-like structure of the branches and overhanging leaves protecting the trunk of the tree. An opening just small enough to fit a pachirisu not yet fully grown sat at its base, and I assumed the trunk was only hollowed out to the first branch. I was mildly surprised the tree was still standing; the trunk was so narrow that I thought any kind of hollow would surely cause it to collapse. Perhaps the pachirisu was wary of its demise.

"Please," she began, "this tree is the only thing I have." A light frown found itself resting on my brow. "Spare a stranger and have pity."

I adjusted my paws and shifted my weight to my back paws. "What are you talking about?" I asked quietly.

"P-please! I'm no good to eat, really. My kind taste pretty awful, for your information."

"I'm not going to eat you," I told her with a tinge of annoyance combined with confusion. "Don't you think I would have pounced already...or...done whatever hunters...do...or something?"

The electric type was somewhat surprised, and I wasn't sure why. "Well..." She seemed at a loss for what to say before eying the ground. Maybe she was looking for words under the soil.

"Goodbye," I muttered, turning to leave. The leaves stroked my pelt as I exited. Last thing I wanted was to start a riot or a fight. Frankly I wasn't interested in making friends, either.

"Hey." I had only gotten a few metres before I heard a rustle and moved my head to the right. I didn't bother to rotate my body or even place my head in such a position for our eyes to connect. "...Thanks."

I nearly faced her completely before convincing myself it was pointless, and simply replied, "For what?"

The pokémon must have stood staring for a moment before I heard another rustle. She had scurried back to her tree.

Amidst the confusion lacing my mind about the peculiar encounter, I padded slowly on, my head low to the ground. The last time I'd conversed with a pachirisu...was when I was searching for Izante. I'd just woken up after the armaldo attack. I thought I might have died. But worse than that, I had feared Izante had suffered the same fate. _'We were so close...' _

I found a spot amongst fallen trees and well rested logs a few minutes from the pachirisu's willow. I stared at the sky above, joining several stars together to create a picture. They shimmered against the intense mixture of black and blue, stretching their light beyond what small space they occupied amongst the extension of the sky.

My master would often share with me stories of the Sky Warriors. They were said to be mystical beings that served the world and bestowed peace in the time of great need. Although casualties were constantly on the menu, so was justice. "To get their hands stained was the price of peace," Master had said. "They knew they would never lead peaceful afterlives for their acts, and they had to accept that they were the world's sacrifices as well as the saviours."

"But why? It was necessary! Shouldn't Arceus make an exception for them?" I had asked, but my attempts to speak with my human trainer were futile every time. This would have killed me if she hadn't been able to read faces. I wasn't sure if all humans were gifted with the ability to communicate with their trainers that way, but even so, us pokémon could mimic the humans' expressions and make our own just as easily.

_'Yet so far away...'_ A bitter dressing sprinkled my thoughts as I continued to stare, unable to depict the pictures as clearly as Master had described them. She would always point each character from the story out to me. I still wasn't sure if what she told me was true or not—if it was fact or fiction. It didn't matter to me, though. I always enjoyed her tales.

Suddenly I made something out. It looked a little bit like a flareon...or a glaceon... "...Or a leafeon," I whispered, the memories flooding my mind once more. I remembered that on a few occasions, while we would be seated around a campfire, Master would recite those stories... She would educate Izante and her master of the Sky Warriors too, and my leafeon friend and I would often quote them or remind one another of specific events in select stories.

"...I do miss her." I glanced skyward again and tried to find that constellation once more. When it didn't redraw itself, I lowered my head again, fixing my gaze on a curved green leaf. It was alone – one of its kind – yet it was surrounded by sticks. Other leaves were scattered outside the stick circle, but none were near the central leaf. I noticed that the closest leaf to the sticks was an autumn leaf. With a grunt I burned the middle leaf, pushed the sticks toward the tiny flame and watched as they caught fire. I stamped it out before it could reach the autumn leaf, which I set among a section of green leaves only paces away.

_'I'm so confused...'_ My mind began to wither as I settled down onto my belly this time. _'My best friend... Was she forced to leave me, or did she want to?'_ I began to whip up crazy ideas; what if she had to make it look like she was betraying me when, in reality, she needed me to think that for future plans? Her trainer could have discovered a resistance to Team Rocket and applied to be a member, signing Izante up as one of his pokémon, so he could work from the inside. He could never have told me or my trainer because he didn't want us involved or hurt. I devised more theories—ones about how evil pokémon like that garchomp were being brought from some other planet, and Izante had to pretend to be part of Team Rocket to gain insight on them. It was possible she hadn't yet made up her mind; the most plausible of my theories was that she signed up to be a part of Team Rocket, but she realised it wasn't how she was told it would be. Maybe she wanted to quit, and soon she would come crashing through the forest blurting apologies and begin licking me half to death.

But as I waited...no leafeon came. I was singled out as I lay alone, and I felt my tail curl around my side, my head lowering to my paws. "Oh, Izante... I don't understand." My fur became wet in streaks as tears weaved between every hair on my face. My head shot back up and I let loose a cry of despair; what in the world was my best friend thinking?! Didn't she want to return to me so we could amend our separation and return home? To our masters?

As my head spun repeatedly, my tears forming a constant but steady stream, I was bombarded by more questions, and I was hardly able to think about each one, let alone answer them all. "Izante..." While I scanned the stars once more through teary sight, I began to drift. My heart sank, my head following. My conscience would lull me to sleep, and all I had to do was listen...

**ooo**

"Poke her!" someone insisted.

"No, you poke her!" another voice protested.

"I asked you first," pointed out the first one. "Are you too torchic?"

"N-no!" declined what sounded like a very young male's voice.

At first I was confused and a little disoriented. Without making any indication that I was awake, I lifted one of my eyelids, scanning the upright pokémon's bodies silently. I sensed no trace of hostility, and therefore it was safe to lie in my position and wait for something to happen. I could only imagine these were colony kids, or young from a family nearby.

I watched as the male hid his face by turning to his left in embarrassment, and the other, a female – who was standing nearly out of view – chuckled spitefully. "Come on!" she prompted, and the male pouted but obliged, facing me. I quickly shut my eyes, masking my awareness yet again and listened for the smooth hairs of the pokémon's pelt to come in contact with mine. It would be an amusing moment.

Just when the time was right and the pokémon was near – too near – I made a startlingly sudden movement, yelling, "SCARY FLAREON!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed the terrified buizel, huddling together with their backs plastered to the tree behind them. Their expressions were unbelievably hilarious, and they looked like they'd seen ghost pokémon!

"Hahaha!" I let out in response, sitting up straight.

The two remained silent as their gaping mouths closed and the female seemed less frightened. She fluffed herself up and shakily asked, "A-are you the flareon...s-staying with our colony?"

I stood up and shook off. "See any other flareon around?" I raised my eyebrow fur. The buizel's eyelids dropped and she looked still wary yet marginally annoyed.

"N-no!" she retorted, slightly offended.

I flashed a smug grin, getting to my paws and scanning the area. A few paces to my left lay a charred circle of ground; I knew how that happened. The stars had cleared off and clouds replaced them in vastly different forms. The world was still dark, and I knew it was just prior to dawn. The trees were refreshed and waking from their sleeps, swaying contently. I was in a similar state; I imagined I would wake up to feel groggy and rather cheerless, but it was a new day, and I would never get to relive it again. Nevertheless, it was still early, and a chance for a nap before sunrise would surely not escape.

"What are you doing out here?" queried the male buizel, and I looked to him, noticing he wasn't the same one that I had to babysit at the daycare.

"I was sleeping until these two water types _woke me up_." I threw a narrowed-eye expression to the duo, but they guessed I wasn't being serious, and the male seemed to loosen up a tad. "Do you guys have names?"

"O-of course," the female snapped, and I only rolled my eyes at her while hanging onto an amused smile.

"I'm Skop and this is Flop," Skop informed calmly, holding out a paw to indicate his friend.  
Flop shot him a piercing glare, and I was glad I wasn't the target of that look! "Skop," she hissed, speaking through bound teeth, "don't give strangers our names!"

"I'm no stranger if I'm gonna be living with you guys," I interjected matter-of-factly. Flop seemed highly unimpressed, and Skop was still cowering from the attack on his very innocence. "So...you guys are brother and sister, I take it?"

"Twins," Flop correctly quickly, and for the first time I noticed that both of their back paws were half cream, the same colour as their undersides among other features. They were nearly identical; in fact, I was having trouble finding any distinguishing features. They were both the same height, their pelts were the same hue, their tails the same size, their arm fins the same shape...

_'I guess they call 'em 'twins' for good reason!' _

"Why are you out here?" Skop tilted his head curiously.

"Well... I slept here."

"Why?"

"Because I prefer...my space," I answered plainly. I didn't need to share my feelings with him.

"Isn't it better to sleep where other—"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you, squirt?" I narrowed my eyes, flicking my tail – or what I had of it – and the buizel cocked his head again as I addressed him. I felt my bandages begin to slip as I rose and stretched, turning to begin making my way back to the colony. I could probably crash at Zhol's before the rest of the pokémon woke up. At that moment I was probed with a question of my own. "...Why are you two out here?"

Flop just huffed and took her brother by the paw. They spun and disappeared into the forest; the last glimpse of eye contact was shared between me and Skop seconds before he was whisked away by his sister.

"...Whatever," I grunted with indifference, and began my path back to the colony.

I had a few minutes of silence before my ears twitched. I flicked my eyes from side to side without shifting my head, padding cautiously through forest undergrowth. More rustling was apparent and I quickened my pace, setting my eyes on each tree trunk as I passed beside them.

Seizing the chance, I whirled around and fired a flamethrower, hearing a surprised vocal noise. Before the flames could clear, I found myself still after a rumble sounded from behind me. I sighed, annoyed with myself for not sensing any other pokémon before the worse happened. I smelled earth and rock, and a pokémon roughly my size materialised from the smoke before me. He was dark grey with silver plates and stood on four legs. As he shook off, I took note of his icy blue eyes and the steel bracelets hugging his ankles. The lairon narrowed his eyes before I jerked my head to the left. A pokémon of different shades of grey trudged closer, his threatening tusks a compliment to his strong trunk. His stubby legs managed to carry him all the way to my side.

"You," the donphan grunted with a cocky edge to his voice. "Calm your sweet little self down. All we want is some answers. You co-operate and things won't have to get ugly." He wasn't intentionally threatening, and I realised that the 'cocky edge' was merely the way he spoke. He seemed somewhat reasonable despite his words.

"Ugly how?" I tested, excited despite my being outnumbered. "How do you know I don't have reinforcements waiting to spring you now?" The side of my face rose into a daring smile.

The trio let amused chuckles fill the air around their mouths before the ground type answered, "Because I can tell when a pokémon's bluffin'." He made a movement with his trunk to whatever scum had my back covered, and to my surprise he stepped away. I wasn't sure if that was an indication that I was allowed to go – which seemed unlikely – or what. "If it makes things easier for you, Kuzi here won't stand so close."

I flung my head over my shoulder to identify my capturer: he was a rhyhorn. Very sturdy and seemed like solid, plated rock on four legs, complete with a horn and determined eyes. "Good," I replied, wondering what in the world these pokémon wanted. They weren't readied for battle, and didn't seem overly hostile—not towards me, at least.

"First question—and don't even think about lying to us," the lairon warned, his deep voice more intimidating than the donphan's. "Do you or do you not know a male houndoom?"

My brow furrowed. _'A houndoom?'_ Figuring I had nothing to lose, I answered, "Well, I..." I stopped. I was unsure about the question's nature. If I said I did and gave them his previous location, perhaps I would be endangering him. Not that I had a reason not to pay him out. "Not personally, no." Still unsure of their intentions, I asked a question of my own. "Why do you wanna know?"

"_We_ ask the questions, not you," the lairon hissed.

"Gee, nobody taught _you_ manners, did they?" I murmured to myself, to which he growled:

"_What_?"

But the donphan only chuckled. "Answers before questions," he told me.

I thought about that for a second. "Alright, then... No. I don't know a male houndoom."

The lairon stepped forward and rumbled, "Don't _lie_!"

I proceeded to occupy the space behind me with a leg of my own, growling, "Don't assume I am."

"I'll do what I _like_, flareon."

"It's_ Dusty_."

At this point the donphan took his place between us. "I beg your pardon, miss, but we haven't been properly introduced. The name's Cutch. And this is Krenta and Kuzi." He motioned with his trunk to the lairon and the rhyhorn respectively. "You see, we're after this houndoom character for his sneaky and traitorous habits. He has something that I want."

My suspicion moved in like a cloud of mist, and I asked with amused, narrowed eyes, "And what would that be? Treasure? His _head_?"

"Heh heh!" Cutch chuckled again. "This kid ain't bad!" His eyes met with his comrades before he settled back to me. "If you think o' somethin', I'll be 'round."

_'Hmm,'_ I thought once they moved off in the opposite direction I was travelling, watching all three tails (so to speak—Kuzi was short on such a thing) disappear between increasing foliage. Shrugging, I spent the whole way back shuffling between possibilities how that houndoom had managed to get himself into trouble with pokémon that didn't look too forgiving. _'No doubt he did something shameless like steal.'_

Entering the colony's grounds, I took note that not a single pokémon occupied the open space. The campfire had burned out, of course, and all that remained were memories of last night; berry juice and dried fat lay in spots on logs and the bland packed soil. I didn't pay it further attention before striding towards Den Row when a sudden thought revived itself and prodded my brain. _'Oh...I was supposed to check up on Splash to make sure he was okay this morning,'_ I realised, changing my course of direction and passing Den Row rather than travelling up the path. I headed toward the southeast boarders where I would encounter the fruit shack thing, which was where I was told I'd find the pokémon standing guard.

"Each member of the colony takes turns in checking up on Splash, because he guards the shed every night," Ikari had told me after discussing the daycare job with me. I thought it typical that I would be blessed with the responsibility of checking on him early each morning for a week.

_'Lucky those buizel woke me up. I would have forgotten otherwise.'_

As I approached the shed, I remembered that it was the place I crashed the first time I turned up at the colony. I wondered why, if Splash was on guard that night (since he supposedly was every night), he didn't stop me. I wasn't sure, but I hadn't met Splash, so I didn't know what he was like, either. In fact, I'd forgotten what kind of pokémon he was.

Padding closer, I casually rounded the left side of the shack and appeared before its entrance. A somewhat aqua pokémon was standing mindlessly beside it, seeming to be off in a daze before turning to me with a wide, blank smile.

"Uhh... Hey...Splash," I began slowly, his eyes focused on me with an innocent but hollow stare. As he kept staring, I turned around hesitantly, spying nothing else that the quagsire could have fixed his gaze onto. "Um... Are you alright?"

The water and ground type continued his silent behaviour, and just as I was about to spin 'round to leave, he blurted, "Quaaaaaag." And that was all.

"Um...okay?" I was at a loss for words before saying, "What...what does that _mean_? Is it...some kind of ancient quagsire dialect?" It must have been. Either that or he was messing with me.

"Quaaag," he repeated, his contentment apparent as he turned and faced the forest once more, his tail merely an inch away from the wooden wall of the shed. His front paws were kept resting on his belly and his smile remained, much to my confusion. I figured I would ask someone else about his strange nature later, but in the meantime I could rest.

Skipping happily across the field of open land before I would reach Den Row or the strip of forest separating it from the daycare's side of the land, I noticed that the Sun still hadn't risen. The clouds had begun drifting at their leisurely pace across the sky, leaving a trail of broken cloud particles which hurried to catch up again. Bird pokémon's chirps were only just beginning, but I knew they wouldn't wake the villagers; their songs were often peaceful and hardly loud, and these pokémon were used to the outdoorsy sound of nature. So was I, of course, although there was the odd occasion of sleeping in a poké ball...which was impossible again until I returned to Master.

Passing the strip of trees separating two sections of the colony's land, I heard that infamous rustle. Figuring it was a baby pokémon, I ignored it. However, my ears wouldn't be put to rest as more sounds and subtle voices whispered from between the trees, and I became suddenly suspicious. My first assumption was of the houndoom I already held a grudge against, and who was apparently in trouble with other pokémon equally as grudging. _'Hang on... Why would that houndoom be talking to himself? And if he was talking to someone else, who?'_ My fur stood on end as I sensed that whoever was behind the cluster of trees starting off the strip of forest was not someone I knew, and neither was it someone welcome.

Just as I went to spit out a threat, I leapt backwards at the sight of long, stringy vines. They were suspended in mid air, and it took me longer than it should have to register that they were controlled by a pokémon—a grass type. Without hesitation I unleashed a stream of fire at them, but they recoiled quickly and disappeared within the trees. The chatter had subsided, and as I went to take a collection of steps in reverse, my limbs seized up. It felt as though I was paralysed, and, well...I must have been!_ 'I...I can't move!' _A rush of desperation zipped through my bloodstream, and I knew I was at a major disadvantage. _'If only it had been that darn houndoom! And where are those ground, rock and steel types when you need them?!' _

To my surprise, not two, but three figures emerged from within the trees, each a different size, type and species—not your usual pack mates or group of friends. The first to appear was tiny and must have only come up to my mane. He was round and cream, and on his body were triangular patterns. He grinned a surprisingly malicious grin for someone so small and innocent-looking, and I suffered a moment of chills.

The next pokémon was a Mr. Mime. He was much taller, had sections of pink and white, and was shaped similarly to a human. His blue head fur sprouted from each side in a scraggly, unkempt manner, yet remained stiff. He was concentrating on something close to me judging by his body language and line of sight, and it was only a matter of moments before I discovered he was using psychic powers on me to restrict my movements.

The third pokémon to reveal himself was somewhat stout and resided on four stumpy legs, and I instantly knew he didn't fit in with his colleagues. His vines were exposed and ready to strike, coming from the opening bud on his back. As soon as our eyes met, my breathing became caught within my throat. He flinched with genuine surprise, and I instantaneously realised that I knew him. His wide eyes and lack in movement twisted in a corrupt exchange of eye contact before I took the liberty of issuing a lengthy inhalation. I couldn't help but stammer, and I could tell he knew what was coming.

"..._Sed?_"

_A/N: _*NOTE: The mention of "Sky Warriors" has absolutely no relevance or connection to the pokémon movie _Giratina and the Sky Warrior_, as I haven't even seen it. xD


	21. Chapter Twenty-one: Confrontation

**BOOK TWO: UNCOVERED**

**Chapter Twenty-one: Confrontation**

'_N-no... It...it can't be happening. Not again,'_ I told myself helplessly, but I was quickly losing faith.

The Mr. Mime managed a grin amidst his concentration, and the togepi kept his broad as he opened his mouth. "So, you know our colleague, do you?" he asked, and I couldn't help but wish I wasn't constricted by any kind of rotten bind. I wanted to fry that pokémon like the egg he was.

Sed, now evolved, was a timid ivysaur barely different to his previous self as a bulbasaur. However, there was a certain fire in his eyes. At first I mistook it for passion, but suddenly I realised it was nothing positive. _'Revenge.' _

"It...it was your fault!" he bleated hysterically, his face contorted with betrayal and agony. He looked uncared for, and I could only imagine what he had gone through. Still, I was obliged to ask.

"Sed...what happened to you? I...I thought you were..."

"Dead?" the togepi intervened, and I threw a glare at him—as best I could in my condition.

"I thought...Team Rocket..." I swallowed, hardly willing to admit my thoughts. "...I thought they executed you."

The statement only brought forth the ivysaur's anger, and it was entirely directed towards me. "Shut _up_!" he screamed, and at that point I realised he was still just a child. When we had met, he'd told me he had only been with his trainer for two weeks before Team Rocket got a hold of him. From my experience, I was led to believe that the pokémon that trainers receive as their official firsts were fairly young when obtained, and no more than two weeks had gone by since I had last seen Sed, making him still very young.

"Sed, listen to me. You don't have to do this."

"You don't know anything," he answered in a deep and wounded voice, his head low and his pupils partly obscured because of his angle.

"If we're done here," interrupted the togepi, glancing to the Mr. Mime.

The psychic type relaxed and all at once I was free. "Aah," he began, "that really gets the mind flowing."

Before I had the chance to take a step to flee, Sed's vines rocketed towards me at a speed I wasn't aware a grass type could possess, and I was once again constricted. I was shocked to find that he had not wound his vines up my torso or bound my legs, but my _neck_. The seriousness of the situation dawned on me as a poisonous wave swept through my veins; this ivysaur was scarred. And I had been the one to make the mark, whether I meant to or not. It was me that condemned him to his life as it was now, and, in his confused and merciless state, I felt momentarily frightened.

"Sed," I breathed, suddenly realising I was short of breath. My eyes grew and my limbs began flailing, although a use of too much energy would result in a shortage of the amount I reserved for surviving my hanging. "_Sed_!" The pressure began building, and I felt my eyes dampen as they slowly began leaking. Panic slashed my insides as my toes straightened and my fear instigated shivers. I could inch only a tiny gasp of air through my throat as the vines ceased to tighten, the ivysaur's face alight with pure hatred. My lungs threatened to burst as my head screamed; my brain thumped restlessly inside my skull whilst my panic swelled like a serious injury. The pressure expanding in my head gripped me as if a mighty snorlax was squeezing the blood from my face. I struggled harder, my jaws tightly compressed and my desperation increasing without rest. I longed to scream at him again, but the only thought occupying my mind was raw fear; I could _die_ as a result of strangulation, and that information itself was deadly enough.

"What's wrong?" the togepi sneered, his eyes fixed on my struggle as he upheld his grin. "Can't breathe?" I choked and blinked out more tears; it was horrifying to know that this sick togepi found pleasure in witnessing me suffer. On top of that, he looked barely older than a child!

The best response I managed between fits of struggle and a further river of tears was a spray of flames that slipped between my teeth which barely ended a pace in front of me. My pain was similar to that of the armaldo incident, although vines were the culprit this time rather than water. However wrong the place and time was, I found it ironic that opposite elements could have an identical effect on the same target.

"Sed," the Mr. Mime muttered, "that's enough." He was still mildly amused, but the feeling seemed to slip from his face as Sed's intensity failed to pacify. After a moment without a reaction, his tone leapt to a somewhat sturdy one. "Sed. I order you to stop." But the ivysaur's rage couldn't be dulled, and his indignation burned more furiously as his face only seemed to twitch with more contempt than before.

"It's _your_ fault," he spat, saliva seeping from his mouth and spattering the soil. I instantly recalled that the same sentence had been screamed from his lips the last time we'd seen each other; it was difficult to forget. I would have found his unforgiving expression contorted with pain and feelings of betrayal heartbreaking had he not had such a serious advantage over me; due to the current hierarchy, those things were only all the more frightening.

"Sed," the Mr. Mime growled in a harsher manner, the vitality in his voice streaming clearly through. "You know we need her alive." His pressing eyes warned even me of the apparent importance of my life, but with my increasing loss of consciousness, it was hard to tell what was what anymore.

The Mr. Mime made a move to repeat Sed's name, but he was cut off by the piercing seeping sound of poisonous spores launching into the air. Step by step the purple haze erupted in plumes to envelop the space directly around the ivysaur's body, and as it drifted closer, I could only feel my heart hammer as my ribs attempted to keep it contained. I barely noticed the Mr. Mime back away as the poison spread to the air surrounding him as well, and he threw his forearm under his eyes to mask his mouth.

Sed's sanity didn't hesitate to disintegrate sections at a time, and the realisation that this could be my end taunted my mind while I could do nothing but live the nightmare. The situation was no longer centred around Sed, but me. I was at the receiving end of his rage, and he showed no sign of letting up.

I couldn't take any more. My insides were bursting with a need to breathe while my brain expanded to the point where it was forcing the edges of my skull apart; my vision blurred, all signs of oxygen inhalation came to a halt, and my flailing died down. My connection with reality mollified, as did my cognitive and physical functions. I could literally feel myself shutting down, and it was then that I truly believed I was on the brink of death.

Thankfully it appeared that someone wouldn't allow that.

A shot of sickly dirt and gunk projected itself into the vines, striking with the advantage of unexpectedness and caused them to fling me into the trees nearby. I had been released! The joys of oxygen returned to me, but I knew my strength was failing and I could do nothing to stop myself from becoming tangled with branches and restless leaves.

I thought I had fainted as my eyesight plunged into blackness and my limbs seemed to go numb. Only seconds later did the pins and needles set in, and I was suddenly at the mercy of my own bodily functions. The needles stung and tickled fiercely at the same time; it was one of the weirdest feelings a pokémon could feel—besides evolving. My vision took its time to return, but in the meantime, my ears detected sounds of battling, and another pokémon appeared. As soon as I heard speech I identified her as Azure, and by her surprised mentioning of Splash, I'd say it was his gushing water attack that saved my hide. Although my sight and muscles weren't fit for aiding me, my speech still functioned.

"Azure!" I shouted hoarsely, feeling the effects of a sore throat when trying to speak. "Get rid of them!" I would have said more, but I was hardly in a suitable state.

It wasn't long before I heard padding and more voices, and I knew reinforcements had arrived before I happened to slip into a spiral of unconsciousness.

**ooo**

I murmured myself awake and proceeded to sit up quicker than I should have. The world spun as my eyes failed to maintain a clear view, and I was forced to lean forward on my front legs as I began to recover.

"You're up," commented Zhol, and I was immediately reminded of how Izante had an annoying tendency to state the obvious, especially as it happened. With Zhol it wasn't so abundant, however.

"I am," I responded wearily, happy to find no new bandages. "Where are we?"

"This is my home," the sneasel told me steadily. She kneeled before me and seemed ready to help if I needed it.

"Nice...house." I lifted my head and scanned the room, noting pretty much what I saw in everyone else's. One corner was iced over and had an ominous icy steam radiating from its surface, and I nearly admired it before becoming disgusted by its existence. "How does that stay unmelted?" I questioned, a slight frown patting my face.

The sneasel rose, inhaled slowly and forced a shaped spray of freezing air. As it made contact with the ice, the particles solidified and the clump had no choice but to double in size. I shuffled back a pace or two, and she seemed to flinch, resting a cautious gaze upon me. I could tell she was uneasy about my reaction, and it became evident that she feared she had done something wrong as she continued her almost-worried look. She gave the ice a few seconds of attention before presumably switching back to me, but by that time I'd looked away.

I was disorientated. I felt marginally cold, which was unusual for me, and the streaming sunlight reaching me through slits between the logs told me it was no longer the time of the night hunters. It was morning. Last I remembered, I had been strung up in a tree and a few members of the colony – Splash, Azure, and others – had been fending off the invaders. Or ambushers. Or whatever they were.

Wiping my eye with a paw, I turned to Zhol. "What are you doing here?"

She adopted a shred of perplexity and melded it with her face. "This is my home," she simply stated with edged concern.

"No, I mean—why are you here now? Don't you have other duties?"

She must have been unknowing about the nature of my question. "I stayed to ensure your safety," she answered as if I'd offended her slightly.

"Oh, I—I just...didn't know." I shrugged, pushing a sigh between my lips. "It's nice of you to wait for me to...greet the morning," I half-heartedly chuckled.

"Yes, well... You were out for the entire night. You were brought to me upon the fleeing of some intruders, and you've been asleep ever since. I assumed you'd been unconscious by violent means to begin with, and that you'd combined your unconsciousness with sleep." She stopped to feel herself breathe, staring at me with nothing more than an informative face. It was a moment before she averted her eyes and uttered, "Anyway. I best leave," and pressed against the wall to hoist herself upright. The question of why she wasn't in the clinic resting sprung to my mind before I figured she must have gotten treatment for her wounds after Shard escorted her to the clinic the night before, and that she returned to the comfort of her home shortly after. It was either that, or she refused to leave me unattended at her home.

"Zhol," I began, and she looked without emotion. "You shouldn't be out and about in your state." I rose to my paws and stood before her, adamant about my decision. "Don't tell me you're fine, or that you can handle yourself. You need rest. You're a strong pokémon, but—"

"I'm going to Aemara's clinic," she mumbled, her tone clouded with a tinge of blatancy. Although she did manage a smile.

"O-oh..." I began whispering embarrassed apologies as I helped her out, and took her to the clinic where Aemara was waiting. However, as I entered the room, my fur suddenly erected. My nose curled into an instant snarl and my claws seemed to rise, as if prepared to strike at any moment.

On the end table to the left lay a small familiar sphere. The unmistakable patterns branding his irremovable shell called for attention as his tiny arms and legs seemed to sprawl in useless directions. The lack in movement told me he was unconscious, and for that and only that I was thankful. "What the hell is he doing here?" I growled, low-toned and instinctively protective.

Aemara turned in her graceful innocence and raised a hand to her mouth to gasp. She looked about to greet us with wariness when she instead turned only her head towards the egg elevated beside her, and then back to us. "He—he's injured," she admitted between swallowing. "I was told to—"

"But he's the enemy! He attacked us last night!" I spat, taking care to shield Zhol from whatever could happen next. "Him and that Mr. Mime, and—" I cut myself off as I recalled the early morning's events. I was still preparing to whisper the next word before Aemara dived in.

"His injuries were only minor; he will be moved to another building soon." The froslass kept her gaze fixed on me, as if waiting for my approval. I only snorted. My fur slowly descended to meet with my skin.

"If his injuries were minor, then why is he being treated instead of Zhol?" I stepped aside, as if to reveal my friend properly, but Aemara's decision didn't teeter.

"Dusty, please," Zhol hissed, and her sudden hint of hostility caused me to reconsider my whole argument.

Only fuelling an awkward situation, I renounced my place and stepped off my branch, touching the ground with suspicious agitation. "Aemara," I muttered, solid and blunt, "who told you to take him here?"

"...Shardclaw," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and I turned my tail and exited the confinement.

Bounding with a clear goal in mind, I aimed to seek out that oversized bug type._ 'I knew I couldn't trust him,'_ I thought bitterly, connecting the dots. _'He was so damn suspicious of my relations with Luck, and now he's suddenly put all the injured at risk simply to treat someone not even part of the colony? That togepi is dangerous, and Shard should know it.' _I knew that something was going down. And I had to suss it out. The scyther must have had his reasons, but I was convinced he either didn't think his decision through, or he had some kind of alternate story behind it.

In hot pursuit of answers, I stormed through the colony with a stumble in my step before reaching where I believed the suspicious pokémon lurked. Following some form of vague trail, I snuffed out his doorstep and whipped my head around, seeing only other colony members about. _'He was here recently,'_ I concluded, speeding in the direction the scent led me. Once I crossed the clearing close to the fire place and passed the tree I had been thrown in, my eyes growled for some form of verbal action. They had captured the image of a sturdy scyther leaning with his sharp scythes against the wooden fence bordering the younglings' play area.

"Shard!" I barked sharply, catching him unaware as he flicked his body into a fighting stance and eyed me off. He failed to let his guard down as his wings rose and his scythes reflected the dull gleam of the sunlight. His head lowered and his expression conveyed messages of focus and caution. However, his half-arsed facade didn't fool me. "Why did you let Aemara heal that togepi?" I pressed, skipping formalities.

"He was injured," he answered, slightly less defensive than I'd expected.

"He's the enemy," I snapped.

"Even the opposition deserves a chance at life," retorted the bug and flying type, and to that I only scoffed.

"Life, maybe, but his injuries were minor. Aemara said so herself."

"Once the togepi is better, we can interrogate him," he reasoned, and I thought it over for a mere moment.

"Will you treat him to a fresh drink and a hot meal as well?"

The scyther's immaturity seemed nonexistent as he barely responded. However, I knew that if he was totally innocent, he would have no reason to hold his form like he was, and it only further confirmed my theory.

The detective in me began to surface as I spoke in a slower and slightly condescending tone. "I've learned that your reputation leads you to gain respect amongst the colony members..." I didn't move as I spoke. If I advanced, he might assume I was challenging him. I was simply responding to his challenge. "You can get as many followers as you like on your side... You can also admit anyone to the clinic and make important decisions on your own grounds. It seems even the leader is under your scythe."

"You know _nothing_ of this colony," he hissed, and seemed thinly startled by his own bitterness. Blinking it out, he refocused and I saw the flicker of his nostrils within a few delicate moments. "You have no authority here, and you certainly don't have the right to accuse me of treason." He curled his neck and filed his eyes. Their abrupt severity shook even me as I tried to maintain my composure. He closed the space between us by one step, and even such a small portion of our distance removed seemed dramatic. "Don't think I can't see through your _lies_, flareon," he spat, and in an instant an army of shivers worked their way through every inch of my body. A savage twist sliced at my stomach and I was close to gagging. My eyes lost their confidence and suddenly my armour slipped. Even my toes threatened to give me away as they began trembling under the crushing presence of the fearsome scyther. "I know you're neglecting something from your convincing tale, and I will be the one to uncover the truth."

I could do nothing but stare with horror as fear shot through my veins. My fur stood on end as I was cornered with a boulder suspended above and a tidal wave storming closer. Needles from a cactus pinned me against a rock wall, and my muzzle was bound closed by the chains of justice. The ground I felt so sturdy upon began to split. I was trapped.

With a fierce flutter of his wings, Shard sliced into the air and tore his way across the sky, landing short of Wynore's house. The great ursaring emerged with the tiny teddiursa at her side, and both absent-mindedly greeted Shard as they fixed their gazes to me. My urge to move swelled like a growth as they approached, my eyes flittering and unable to keep still. I must have looked like a fuzz ball as my fur turned to spines and my nose flared with each step they took. The wave was closing in on me, but the needles prevented my movement. A sickening feeling played with my belly, shooting butterfree through my passageways.

"You refuse to enlighten me with the truth," Shard snarled, following slightly bent with his scythes out in front, "but you owe_ them _an explanation." Stopping only metres before me, the bug and flying type rotated his spiky head to the left, and his eyes followed the two sienna pokémon take their place beside him. His eyes were wandering and I could tell he wasn't going to stay; he ushered the teddiursa with the flat sides of his scythes away from her mother and led her to the play pen before she squeezed through a space between the wooden beams.

Realising my place again with the pokémon I had been wary of since my first encounter with her, my claws hid behind rocks and grains of soil willing to unearth. However, the slight breeze was enough to blow the grains away, stripping them bare and sending yet another shiver racing through my body. I hid my embarrassing tail and tried luring my pride to my chest, puffing it bravely and repeating internally that I could hold my ground.

The ursaring's solid expression was of pure disdain. A frown was carved tactlessly into her features, and her stance spoke of potential brutality and ruthless rage. I nearly jumped as she spoke. "Where is my mate?" she growled without bothering to hide her forwardness. I could basically confirm by her behaviour that she and Shard had been conversing.

My brain turned and I held my lip between my teeth. "I—I told you," I stammered, swallowing and trying my hardest to keep eye contact. "He fled the ship."

"Lakane doesn't _flee_ from things," she snapped, stomping her right foot. I knew immediately that she was going to get the truth out of me one way or another. She had no intentions of playing me softly, and it seemed that even Shard was willing to turn a blind eye to whatever the ursaring may bestow upon me. Half of me understood his motives, but the other part loathed his sorry hide for calling my bluff.

"Or maybe he _helped_ the other pokémon off the ship," I reasoned, finding that as a more appropriate explanation.

Wynore fell silent as she contemplated her words carefully. She took a breath. "I truly hope he is alive," she spat, hardly allowing her sincerity to seep between the gaps of her euphemistic threat. "We have a cub to raise. I look after an entire kindergarten of young. Lakane was Habib's bodyguard!" she boomed, and my eyes widened in a heartbeat. I caught sight of Shardclaw who, in the distance, seemed to respond to the last sentence. In a panic, I knew I had to reply.

"His death has noth—" I froze. A horrific feeling suddenly swamped my heart.

Death. I said _death._

'She was talking as if he was dead! I completely let it slip—' However, I saw her mighty paw come down to her side after swatting a fly obscuring her vision. My eyes dropped to its limp body which quickly became lost in the infrequent grass. It was then that I realised she hadn't heard me. I felt my breath test the air, prodding it as my eyes remained shaky but glued to Wynore's, and my theory was confirmed. To ensure confidentiality, I flung my head about, and thankfully I spotted no nearby pokémon. I turned back to her and repeated slightly differently, "His _disappearance_ has nothing to do with me. I only helped him fight!"

"Tell me, flareon," Wynore rumbled, her looming figure forcing me to crane my neck and scuttle frantically back a few paces. Her expression had morphed into a grief-stricken and livid one, and I could clearly read that she was both guilty and moral in her decision to blame me. "How many pokémon did you kill because of this ship incident?"

I was taken aback by the comment. Personally I hadn't thought of them as deaths, but, rather, necessities. I didn't really have a word for them. "I didn't count," I growled. "And for your information, I only killed when it was imperative."

"Nidorino, nidorina," she retorted, comparing my definition with another similar one. Essentially she questioned my definition of justice. "How many of those pokémon had trainers? Homes? _Families_?!"

My face lost its formation and my jaw was suddenly loose. My ears drooped and my mind returned to the many incidents whose severity was ambiguous. "W-well... I only killed Rocket pokémon. They had the choice to join us or—"

"You KILLED them!" she roared, forming some kind of invisible sphere between her two palms as she held her clawed weapons suspended at her belly.

"Killed..." I whispered, feeling my head rattle from side to side. "No...no... I protected the innocents and slayed the evil."

"You murdered humans too," she accused, her face clouding over with hatred.

"N-no!" I held my teeth before admitting, "Y...yes..."

_"All vine whip users—throw the humans off board, along with any pokémon that try to oppose us!"_

I halted, witnessing a Rocket man being tossed over the side a few metres up ahead. He yelled all the way down, being silenced by a splash. The wind whipped around our small group, almost chilling me.

I barely noticed as I crept closer, taking in the deep claw gashes that ran slashed across the human's neck. His metal gun sat alone and separated from his hand. Cerise blood stained his uniform, and a dense pool soaking his black hair and hat had formed from the wound's leakage.

"It was kill or be killed!" I shouted, a new sense of guilt laying itself onto what already plagued my mind. My head restarted its shaking. "I...I had to! And I had to destroy the ship afterwards..."

Her glare drilled itself through the barriers my skull was supposed to maintain, twisting parts of my brain and constricting my heart with the unravelled structures.

"You had to do _nothing_!"

"You destroyed the ship?" a voice spiked, and I jumped to find the infamous scyther join our ever so joyous conversation.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, capturing more space as I stepped backwards, losing my grip on sanity.

"Did you let everyone escape?" he pressed, following my movements as he too towered over my frail form. "Or did you leave some on board?"

"STOP!" I screamed, binding my eyes and clenching my jaws.

"I knew I never should have trusted you!" the scyther roared, his wings beating furiously. "Fire types can't be trusted! You're all the same; your fire is deadly, and your spirit is no different."

"Lakane is dead because of you!" Wynore raged, chancing a swipe and scooping the space a hair away from my tuft.

"All those other pokémon...those humans," Shardclaw highlighted, stabbing me with each word. His voice was tainted with the disgust of a million pokémon.

"You killed him!" she screeched, landing a hit as her great paw beat the side of my face. With devastating force, I was thrown metres before rolling to a halt. Stones pricked me as sticks stabbed my wounds; blades of grass cut my eyes and the soil forced itself into my mouth.

My paws seized as my legs started their violent vibration, my jaws so tightly interlocked that I could have shattered my teeth. A stream of tears stained my face, pooling beneath me as my bandages lay limply hanging from my flesh. I was suddenly overwhelmed with an emotion combining grief and guilt, slaughtering my only hope for redemption.

"Tell us," Shard demanded scathingly, baring his deadly set of fangs.

My nose continued to fizz as my eyes bled their painful liquid, and I blubbered with uncontrollable consistency. The never-ending abyss I had fallen hopelessly into was not going to end upon my request. "I...I...can't."

A weight flattened itself along my back with impetuous force, and I jerked as my breath suddenly left me.

"Confession will release you," Shard tempted, appearing inches from my left.

"Tell us what happened to Lakane!" Wynore thundered, increasing the measure of power applied to her leg.

However, I couldn't respond. Beside my anguish and inability to unchain my secret, it had become impossible to gather the air to push out a response. I began to relive the horrid events that had occurred only that morning, and I knew my body was incapable of yet another torture session involving a lack in oxygen inhalation.

My problem was fixed as the ursaring released her hold on me, although I felt no more luxury as she scrunched her claws around my mane and lifted me from the ground. My legs wiped the ground before hanging without a stone of support, and I pierced the air with a squeal of discomfort. Naked fear contaminated my conscience, launching spears of serious self doubt into the depths of my mind. I wanted to tell them... I didn't want to lie! Master had always told me lying was a misdeed that nobody should ever have to do commit... However, I was on trial for much more than just lying.

"You murdered pokémon who got in your way... You didn't think of their needs or their reasons for fighting." The scyther circled me, halting smoothly once he reached each side of the ursaring's body. Never faltering or losing a grasp of his temper, he kept his imprinted glare of scorn and suspicion as his interrogation continued. I was no different to that togepi. "Did you even give them a chance?!"

"ANSWER ME!" the ursaring raged, thrusting my wilted body to the ground.

The wind was knocked from my chest, and the continuous tears wove between every strand of fur as my pain increased. Finally I snapped, scrambling from the threatening monsters and shrieking, "OKAY! I ADMIT IT!" They fell silent, holding their sneers until I spoke again. "I..." On the verge of spilling the secret of Luck's death, I attempted to contain it. However, my ability to do so was waning, and it was only a matter of time before I exposed the truth and stripped myself of any dignity I may still have stowed between the cracks of my heart. Cramming my trust in the jaws of words, I whimpered, "I killed...many pokémon." I had prolonged my confession once more.

Shard's anger nearly overtook him as he raised his scythes and boomed, "That's not what you were going to admit!"

His seriousness frightened me to my core as he looked ready to bring them down, when suddenly a blur knocked him clean off his feet. Our combined shock was enough to influence the mightiest of pokémon; for a moment I had myself convinced that one of the togepi's deadly accomplices had returned to seek vengeance, but as soon as the scyther and the blur rolled to a stop, I gasped. Shard was unwilling to raise his blades to the pokémon pinning him down, and his anger was temporarily shelved. Nothing but shock seemed to occupy his mind. Wynore's reaction hardly differed.

"Zhol!" cried someone from behind me. I rotated my head to view a worried raticate holding her paws to her face before scurrying past me and to her friend's aide. I barely knew what to make of the situation.

"Answers!" the sneasel roared through anger and confusion. I wasn't in a position to view her face, but rather the back of her, as she sat warningly on the scyther's chest.

Shard's face returned to a less severe version of what he beat me with, and it was clear the he feigned innocence. "You should be resting," he responded with a mix of concern and frustration.

"What were you doing to her?" she growled, arching her back as her face neared Shard's. I found myself blinking out my tears and exhaling a great breath of relief. Her concern for my welfare was utterly flattering, especially in such a situation. At the same time, however, when she found out of my misdeeds, it was clear that I would be framed as the villain and even she would accuse me of my lack in responsibility and honesty.

"Zhol," Shard began gravely, lowering his tone as his eyes flicked from me to her again. "You can't trust this pokémon. She's—"

"I _said_," she hissed coldly, her pressing tone striking me as extremely outraged, "_what_ were you doing to Dusty?!"

"She lied to us!" Wynore stepped in, curling her claws to somehow emphasise her point. "She lied to the whole colony."

Zhol's position didn't dissipate as she continued to listen. I could only picture her doubting face. That alone was enough to make me want to flee and never return. She had faith in me, and that was about to be shattered.

Shard snorted but didn't make an attempt to resist Zhol's actions. "We believe that she is hiding something." He passed me his frightening stare, but I quickly rejected it as I searched the back of Zhol's head for some sort of comfort. I needed her eyes. "She may not even be who she says she is."

"I _know_ who she is," Zhol uttered bluntly, holding her position before removing her strong claws from the section of arm connecting Shard's scythe with his shoulder. Silently she shuffled off him and rose to her uninjured foot, moving her head half way to meet eyes with Wynore. She found Gigin for support and turned slowly around, meeting my gaze for but a moment before murmuring for me to follow her back to the clinic.

Shame glazing my entire face, I heaved myself up and followed sluggishly behind.

**ooo**

My head hung from my shoulders as the darkened streaks of fur marking my face told of my recent emotions. My eyes occasionally wandered the clinic's interior to spot Zhol, Aemara and Gigin soundly making amends to Zhol's injuries. I had forgotten that she was half lame, and because of her kind-hearted actions only minutes before, she had stressed her wound to the point of its reopening. It was clear that Gigin had been propping her up on her way to where we resided, and as soon as her eyes fell upon the situation, she took matters into her own claws and zipped to my presumed rescue. I had cost yet another pokémon their futile effort; I was positively cursed, and yet I would still be blamed.

"Your bandages," began Aemara softly, her delicacy almost strange compared with my previous encounter with the colony's pokémon. She hovered towards me, but as she decreased our distance to that of a few paces, I cringed, withdrawing into myself and turning my head from her. She stopped, her body beginning to sway as it caught up with her mind. I fixed my gaze on a grain of dirt coloured differently to those around it, drawing my paws in as my tail attempted to wrap itself around them. Half a tail was hardly substantial.

I sensed her backing away once she ended her period of stillness, and floated back to Zhol. I heard shuffling and a soft click, and could only imagine that she had lay a foot on the ground after climbing from an elevated bed. She approached unevenly, leaning against the raticate. "Come on."

I waited for them to leave and after a moment's hesitation, I picked myself up and trudged after them. I caught sight of a few pokémon as I made my way to Zhol's home, noticing their intrusive stares. It was as if Shard and Wynore had already spread news about my untrustworthiness, and all the pokémon of the colony were growing to condemn and even hate me. I had betrayed them all during the late hours of the previous night, and not one of them deserved treatment installing false hope into their hearts.

After we entered Zhol's house, the sneasel requested that Gigin left. She did so with no more than a nod, and repeated the same action to me before scuttling from the rectangular hut. I could hear the bustling of Den Row as I sat silently, eying my paws as I waited for the moment Zhol would interrupt and begin accusing me. I played with the insides of my lips using my fangs, searching for tissue I could tear off and chew without creating a wound.

"What did you tell them?"

I felt my jaws slide together and my eyelids meet, my ears stiff and my nose quivering. I was reluctant to answer; saying the wrong thing would surely result in disaster. Zhol was the only friend I properly had in this colony, and I didn't want to foil our friendship so early. I had already lost my best friend. Losing her as well was a frightening thought._ 'The least you can do is answer her,'_ I growled inwardly, knowing full well that I owed her that. "I told them..." Ashamed and bitter, I muttered, looking up, "That Luck went missing."

To my surprise, she didn't comment immediately. Instead she seemed to shift through reasons why that would be my choice of words, and ended with a scowl. "That was wrong." She let her head wander in agitation before returning it. "You only prolong their suffering. They have to know the truth."

"I couldn't!" I barked defensively, suddenly displaying stress. My breathing rate increased, and my front paws became separate. "I couldn't tell them about him. He's their family. If I found out my family was dead, I'd..." Images of my master flashed behind one eye and moved to the next just as fast.

"You wouldn't want to be kept from the truth, either," she retorted. I knew she was disappointed. That was one of the worst feelings I could have added to my list. She must have thought I was a cruel fool.

"But, I..." I lost my words. I wasn't _sure_ how I felt. I knew I was guilty, ashamed and greatly saddened! Yet I couldn't decide whether I wanted to break it to the colony or not.

More seriously, she lowered her tone. "It isn't your right to keep the colony in the dark."

Suddenly my mind returned to Shard, and my paws tinkered with desperation. I became restless as my gaze wouldn't hold and my face began to twitch with confusion. I began to scamper into the corner and steadied myself so I wouldn't continuously shake. "I know!" I shouted, feeling the tears beginning to well once more. I felt as if I was brewing a fire storm that was likely to explode any moment, my eyes blurring and my nose undergoing an odd sensation. "I know... But, I... I didn't know what to do, Zhol..."

After moments of immobility, the dark and ice type edged towards me, finishing her movement as soon as she must have felt she was close enough. I wept silently once again, and I could tell Zhol wasn't sure how to comfort me. Feeling the steely but somehow comforting touch of her claws on my shoulder, I flinched, only to relax. Her words were simple and didn't go unquestioned. "Tell them the truth."

My stare met hers, my teary eyes choosing the centre of her pupils. I managed a weak, misleading smile that quickly formed a wailing opening, and I slid my head onto her shoulder, raising my right paw to rest on her other. "I'm just so confused," I whined, drawing a breath between blubbering. "She was my best friend, and she just...left. And now these pokémon have to deal with the loss of their friend..." I tilted my neck, half lying my head on its side as it straightened from her shoulder. "Why is this happening?"

The only response my friend instigated was a left claw resting on the back of my mane and the placement of her head on my shoulder for balance. I sensed her temper quell and her understanding increase, and for that I was thankful. Nobody could ever completely replace Izante, but Zhol was immodestly filling her place.

**ooo**

"Tell me," squawked an enraged bird-like pokémon, her crest rising and her puffy wings fluffing up all the more. Receiving no answer, she fired a dragonbreath onto the togepi strapped to a log, and the normal type screeched in discomfort as the odd flames seared what skin wasn't obscured by shell. His fixed feet hardly moved, and his arms, in a similar state, were of equal uselessness.

"I told you," he sneered, "that I'll only speak to the flareon."

"We know where you're from," she huffed, altering her emotional appearance by a tone. "It's a hideout in the mountains."

The togepi released a dark chuckle and mumbled, "You'll never find it alive."

Tarla let a grin peck the edge of her beak. "And you just ratted out your comrades."


	22. Chapter Twenty-two: Interrogations

**Chapter Twenty-two: Interrogations**

A knock rang throughout Zhol's home, nearly startling me as I flicked my head towards the door, my tuft bouncing in its place. The sneasel beside me answered and nearly moved to someone's "Open up," but I replaced her with a glace and held up a paw to plop into a hole to the left side of the door. I pulled back, staring that annoying altaria in the face. I was tempted to close the door once again, but she quickly screwed her face up and pushed past, narrowly making it through the entrance to address Zhol. She seemed minimally concerned with the sneasel's medical state, and looked to disregard it before moving on.

"Habib is asking for the flareon," she started, turning to me for a split second. "If you want her, I'll send her back after."

"I always knew you'd be fit as a delivery bird," I snarled, raising an eyebrow sharply at her. She only returned the gesture with amplified immaturity.

She seemed to forget about Zhol's reply and turned to exit instead. As she wedged through the doorway, she mumbled, "Hurry up," and continued down Den Row.

"It's the Poultry Police," I remarked sarcastically. Zhol was marginally amused. "I'll...see you later." I exited her house and was about to bound off when I stopped myself and stuck my head back in through the doorway. "Thanks." I shoved the door closed and rushed off, following the obnoxious blue and white cloud with feet. Once I matched her pace, I questioned, "What does he want me for?"

She merely glared flatly at me before uttering, "You'll find out when you get there."

"Why can't you just tell me now?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

The altaria was reluctant to respond, but submitted and replied, "Interrogation."

I displayed my surprise as I ran through reasons in my head. "What did I do this time?"

"Not you, you fluffy twit," she uttered, "the togepi."

I squinted my eyes. "...Huh?"

With a huff and a puff, the flying and dragon pokémon whirled around to block my path, and shouted, "You! You're going to interrogate that togepi because he refuses to talk to anyone else!" I remained with my head withdrawn and my brow pressing on my eyes. "Get it?" She pulled herself around and led me once more.

"Now that you've explained so clearly."

Blowing a snort through my nose, I picked up my pace and overtook her, listening as she quickened hers in an attempt to catch up. I held my position in front of her for as long as I could before she began to dash, at which point I narrowed my eyes and worked my legs harder. We stayed neck and neck until I was racing and she was soaring; however, the wind favoured her cloud-like wings as it carried her faster, and she arrived well before I did. Panting, I finished behind her, containing a frown and the urge to call her out for somehow cheating. I resisted, however, pushing past her and through the open entrance to Habib's lair.

My eyes uncovered nothing I didn't expect until a towering green figure invaded my peripherals, and I shrieked with silent subtlety. A burst of guilt zapped through my blood as Shard's form took a valid shape. His cold, sharp eyes speared my own as I hurried to avoid him by scampering to the other side of the flying fluff. Warily, my gaze switched back to an oblivious lickitung standing with his arms behind his back and a weak smile pressed quietly into his face.

"Please, take a seat," he offered, nodding with grace to the stump accompanying my toes. Awkwardly I stepped on, nearly slipped off, and sat down. I assumed his bipedal figure was more suitably built for seats such as stumps. Once I settled in, he began. "I assume Tarla has briefed you."

I narrowed my eyes as they fell to the altaria. "As best she could."

Amusingly she stiffened and looked about to retaliate, but her respect for the colony leader won her over and her beak remained shut. Her fury attempted to rake through the leaves between us as I flaunted my half-tail in my devilish smirk.

"Very good," he continued, seemingly oblivious to the silent rivalry sparking at the other end of his table. "The togepi wishes to speak only to you, and therefore it is imperative that you see him as soon as you are able. I'm afraid we must rely on you to extract the information needed: why he came here and who he is working for. It is unfortunate that I must burden you so early into your stay here with us."

I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to comply or not, but it appeared I had no choice. Shard shifted enough to catch my attention, and suddenly I remembered the secret I swore to reveal. If I wasn't obedient in a time when I was needed, the scyther would surely not be as forgiving as I may hope.

"Tarla has managed to push the prisoner to confess his hideout's whereabouts," he explained, resting his arms on the edge of the table. "The expedition party moved out not half an hour ago, and hope to achieve the goal of confirming the lair's exact location so that we may pass the information on to a more able-bodied clan or colony to handle. They will also assess the security and estimate as best they can a number we – and any other clan that will be willing to band together to defeat them – can prepare for." His attention settled onto the flying and dragon type nearby, and he added, "Tarla will set out very shortly in an effort to meet up with the party."

"I...can go as well," I offered, rather enticed by the prospect of an adventure where possible danger awaited me. I leaned forward as an unconscious action. Tarla's subtle snort and feather ruffling didn't escape my notice.

"We hope that, in the event of the togepi revealing all the details we hope you can extract, you may catch up with the party and aid them in carrying out the task." He blinked with an unnecessary lack in speed, and produced a comforting smile. "The mountains are snowy and best suited for fire types who can keep their bodies heated with running consistency—besides ice types, of course. Having said that, your flamethrower will prove to be quite a useful tool, especially if the case happens to be that you encounter unfriendly ice pokémon."

I felt my head tilt. "Why would there be unfriendly ice pokémon?"

"Because they _live_ there," muttered Tarla, louder than she should have. I eyed her side as she perched a few metres from me along the side of the table to where she had waddled. "Pokémon are naturally cautious of territory invasions."

Habib appeared to disregard her comment and readdressed me. "The pokémon surrounding these parts of our land have of late erected constant barriers to prevent contact from the Rokont Organisation, and have been reportedly very hostile. The hunting trip you, Shardclaw and Zhol went on the other day, for instance, was an example of pokémon that attacked out of fear in a desperate attempt to protect themselves in case you were a threat. By killing some of the pokémon nearby – for hunting or not – you disturbed their peace and caution."

"...But they didn't even ask us if we were these Rokont pokémon or not. They just...attacked," I replied with flat confusion.

"That is why we must adhere to precautions and be more alert than ever before." He spoke wisely, choosing each word quickly but not without grace or thought. My questions still hung, and, presumably after unearthing them from beneath the surface of my mind, his eyes wondered for a moment as he thought to elaborate. "Reports of attacks and deception have spread through Santoh, and on more than a few occasions has the Rokont Organisation been responsible for them. Many of the syndicate's minions do not care for stranger safety, and therefore, they take what they want, igniting damage or harm during the process whilst leaving behind no trace of remorse. The pokémon in these parts have begun living in fear, and some, such as the pokémon I heard about from Shardclaw, go to extreme measures to ensure their safety or fortify their defences."

Brimming with frustrated curiosity, I questioned, "What _is_ the Rokont Organisation?" To me it sounded as if someone had played with Team Rocket's name and replaced a couple of sounds with new ones.

The aging lickitung connected gazes with Shard, and it was as if they shared a few seconds of telepathic communication. I followed his eyes as they returned to mine. "The Rokont Organisation is said to be partnered with Team Rocket." I expelled a contemptuous snort, feeling a twinge of fear and sickness in the form of disgust twist in my gut. "Yet it consists solely of pokémon." He burrowed into the foundations of his mind and my line of sight wandered to the fluffy bird pokémon. Her beak was tightly compressed. "Unfortunately we do not know much more than this. Any information you can gather from this togepi will be highly regarded and welcomed."

"Where is he?" I asked, out of questions and hardly thinking it necessary to speak my acceptance of the task.

Silence wavered casually before Shard's movements caught my eye once more. "Come with me," he uttered.

Habib nodded casually, a smile painting gratitude on the sign his face held for me to read.

We arrived following the minutes between the journey from the colony grounds to a known tree which concealed its trunk with many drooping limbs. The thick leaves and branches provided perfect cover for what it protected: a space of a few metres in each direction from the middle trunk, and in the centre, close to the ground was a small hollow holding the togepi. He was bound by a strong spinarak web which was sticky enough to glue his body against the walls of the hollow, but that didn't restrict his facial movements any more than his thoughts.

Shard released the branches he had lifted with a straightened scythe to allow me passage, and slipped away after he instructed me to talk with this togepi to seek the required answers. I felt little use in protest, so I nodded my head gravely and watched his stony glare before it was no longer in view. The light suddenly dimmed and I tossed my head about, feeling my tuft jump and settle again as my eyes searched for the specks of sunlight I yearned for to encourage and comfort me.

"And the Sun finally fades," the togepi hissed with sudden tones of contempt. "Night is the better time, anyway."

The fur on my spine bristled, and as I stared ceaselessly into the hollow depths of his red eyes, I remembered the incident haunting my thoughts he was so actively involved in. Although he had inflicted no pain himself, he had _enjoyed_ my suffering to the extent of mockery. Clenching my fangs, I felt my jaw pound as the repercussions of Wynore's paw-mark seared through my cheek. I convinced myself to release the pressure, switching my attention back to what stipulated it.

"Who are you?" I demanded, finding difficulty in a resistance to averting my eyes. I was less than intimidating as I stood without a specific stance, and my voice shook at a level that told my opposition that fearing me would be, if anything, pathetic. It was hardly comforting.

"I would think you'd've thought more highly of me than that." The togepi's eyes only seemed to skim my untidy and loosening bandages. "What happened there?" He probed, flashing his pupils at my right leg. He looked to another bandage. "And there?"

I was momentarily taken aback, unsure how to respond. This togepi was not easily read, and he knew exactly how to play me, it seemed. An insistent fear crept on its hind legs in circles around us, suddenly bursting from behind the togepi and the tree, proceeding to prowl in unpredictable movements behind me. I had to swallow hard and brush my tail against the ground to suppress my panic.

To my dismay, he next caught site of my half-tail. He smiled with toxic intentions. "I wonder if that's a battle outcome."

"Shut up," I snapped, unaware of my own sensitivity on the matter. I blinked in succession, angling my tail so its invisible missing half was obscured by my body.

He didn't seem fazed in the slightest. His smile had faded, but his sinister composure didn't lessen. Without another word passing from within his mouth, I decided to continue.

"How did a togepi like you...get mixed up in business like this?"

The normal type's face returned to an indifferent glare. "You're wrong if you think I didn't want this life," he responded casually, inhaling to the best of his ability in his constricted condition. "It's such a..." He trailed of as his eyes wandered, something I hadn't witnessed them do until then. He switched back to me in a moment, however, continuing, "..._satisfying_ job."

I suddenly wanted to vomit. An unmentioned sickness bled from my head to my heart, poisoning every cell it passed with the prickle of deadly toxins. A shred of distain divided and dispersed to course through the many pathways of my body. "You make me sick."

"I don't care," he simply replied, shrugging as if he tossed the concept aside like a floppy slab of meat. "My master has taught me to enjoy my work. They say that if you enjoy what you do, you never work in your lifetime."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snarled irritably, staring without motivation to shift my weight.

I only fuelled his gratification as he influenced a wicked ambiance. "I don't care much for my teammates – more so that crazy ivysaur – but if you were lost to the syndicate...I think that would be a big waste of talent and use."

My ears pricked and I was instantly alert. My eyes shot like bullets of a human gun into the averted ones of the togepi's. "What syndicate?" I began. "Who are they?" Shivers skimmed my fur. _'And why did he speak as if I was a part of it?'_

He seemed to show signs of amusement or excitement – I wasn't sure which – and I could tell he feasted on the curiosity that clawed at my mind. "Who I work for, of course," he proclaimed proudly. "I'm sure you'll have a lot to do with them sooner than you would like." To that I frowned, losing my focused stance as dread crawled through my skin. "But don't worry. You'll learn to like it just as I have," the togepi smirked, his voice gliding down a steep slant and grating my nerves. His menacing glare sparked in conjunction with his tone, slashing through my gaze as it challenged my courage.

"You don't know me," I responded, less confident than I would have liked. I gave him a quick vertical assessment. "You're not a psychic type, either. How can you possibly know the future?"

The togepi chuckled without hesitation. "Clearly age isn't one of our players," he provoked, teasing my naiveté.

"...What's that supposed to mean?" I growled, momentarily forgetting the unspoken hierarchy previously enforced.

"Whether you like it now or not, you're going to join us." His eyes were closed and he seemed to be musing. "You don't have a choice when it comes to accepting your place there."

For a second I imagined he was referring to personal experience, and all at once his hold of intimidation on me slipped from his grasp, knocked against the packed soil and dulled until its glow subsided. My confidence returned as I overcame his barrier, and I shook any doubt in myself that lurked in the catacombs of my thoughts, testing another part of the pond.

"Now it's my turn to talk," I demanded, adopting a dominant pose as I neared him with as much offense as defence. He hardly altered his expression. "Now, tell me: where is your hideout in the mountains? We already know it's there, so don't try your malicious games with me to try to convince me otherwise." I jerked my belly and flexed my muscles, warmth steadily generating in the depths of my chest. I kept a consistent breathing pattern and held my body in place.

He showed his teeth once again, and in all honesty, it was beginning to creep me out. A young togepi with as much inexperience with life as he had should not be boasting about the accomplishments that involved the lives he's tampered with or even extinguished completely. Each time his lips parted in an imperfect curve, I was reminded of the hideous experience he had forced upon me in the company of his accomplices. Sed, presumably just as young and as hastily forced into the malevolent business as this togepi, was, only weeks ago, a pokémon I could freely call a friend. But with little time and an influence clearly strong enough to change his cognition – through whatever means they screwed him over with – he had transformed into a deadly machine capable of overcoming type disadvantages and relatively experienced battlers with the simple exploit of his bottled-up and apparently useful hate. This normal type, tainted by the coercion he would have experienced in the form of punishment or simple persuasion, was forever contaminated with greed for self-satisfaction and the suffering of others.

Before I could digress into an emotional flare-up, the togepi intervened with, "What's your name?"

I was caught off guard by the generally casual question, and I wasn't sure if I should openly reveal my identity. However, what was there to lose? He already knew my species and probably had a grasp of my personality. My name was only a fragment of my character. "Tell me yours first." I had to be dominant, at least.

As if he anticipated this, the normal type willingly answered, "Tooloo."

"Can I call you 'Toodleoo'?" I blurted, hardly noticing such a stupid question was hanging from the tip of my tongue.

He seemed oddly stunned and stared before almost stuttering in bewilderment. "As in...the...goodbye word?"

Embarrassed, I scrunched my muzzle and quickly blinked in succession. "It's Dusty," I explained. "My name. But you address me as Miss Flareon. Got it?"

My temper seized its chance to show off its jerk-like qualities and I expelled a row of flames to ensure the egg pokémon would abide by my petty restriction. He attempted to twist to avoid facial contact, only managing to move a smidge and grimace at the heat of the fire. Turning back, he looked unsure of what to think.

"...Just tell me where your hideout is!" I roared, watching the pokémon's full-body flinch and his suddenly unquestioning expression. His mouth was a small gap, and his eyes became marbles with a hue of crimson which watched an older pokémon decide on torture techniques.

The moment struck me unexpectedly, and for a while I was unsure what to do or how to think. This togepi was suddenly a baby pokémon in the hands of an enraged fire type unable to tame her whip of flames. I wasn't sure if it was a trick, or if I had actually frightened the wretched soul. The boulders had turned with such abruption that a reaction was not one way or another, but I stuck with a fairly familiar solution: waiting for the reply.

"Earlier, I told your altaria friend that you won't find it alive," he responded plainly. His eyes had reverted back to menacing orbs, but no longer did he embody such an overbearing radiation of malice. He was a fire who had been reduced to a few flickering embers after my powers of watery suppression separated the flame from its fuel.

"We'll find it," I retorted, minimally surprised at the decline of my doubt.

"Not alive," he repeated, staring aimlessly before he pulled his clouded eyes up to meet with mine.

They interlocked, and I was not able to figure out why he had changed inexplicably as fast as he had. Maybe he wasn't used to interrogations and he didn't play it as well as he thought, or it was possible he had even grown bored of questions and answers. On the other paw, he didn't at all seem obnoxiously disenchanted, but more like silenced...in a non-literal way. However, decoding a sick-minded killer was not prominent on my list, and I knew that focusing on the actual questioning was a more intelligent path to venture down.

"I told you we'd find it," I confirmed, "and that would be impossible if we were dead."

He appeared to absorb a sliver of his previously active energy as a restless draft charged through the secluded area, blowing traces of dirt between his shell and his skin, and a drawn-out breath crawled into his miniature nostrils. "I didn't say you were the ones not alive," he highlighted, allowing his brow to sag in a confident implication of a smile.

"Wh—" I uttered, my tongue catching the word midway through its exit. If he didn't mean us, then he must have been referring to the hideout's residents. My mind spun the options on a running wheel before it occurred to me that being 'alive' didn't necessarily refer to one's beating heart and expanding lungs. "Are you telling me that it's abandoned?"

His lack of a verbal response provided me with an answer fostering as much accuracy as any number of his words would have. And as his content smile slid into place for, it seemed, the hundredth time in the minutes I had been in his presence, his eyes shrugged out any trace of regard for emotional feeling or empathy; in regard to him, I felt myself doing the same. His menacing disposition returned, reimbursing his consciousness in its noxious persuasion. Pride draped over my body as I compared his morality against mine, relieved I had the resources that granted me passage to sanity and – even just a hint – purity. At least, I wasn't a bloodthirsty demon-pokémon whose only life goal was to please himself and his master by dealing gratuitously generous doses of anguish.

"Interrogation complete," I mumbled to myself as I twirled to face the direction I had entered, and bounded without a second thought through the low-hanging leaves. As soon as fading sunlight engulfed me, a rocket of shivers scaled my back in response to the evil eyes on my rear thankfully no longer able to invade my personal space. The information I kept between the strands of golden fur on my forehead, I knew, would be of substantial worth in the wise weathered paws of the colony's leader.

**ooo**

"You may leave as soon as you can tomorrow," the lickitung revealed to me, and, in minor shock and newfound annoyance, I furrowed my brow fur.

"Tomorrow?" I repeated, and he nodded. "Why not now?"

"Although the information you gathered was useful, it is not imperative that the party knows immediately, and dawdling is acceptable. There is no need to rush," he explained with an innocent smile.

"But, Habib, I would rather go now. There's nothing I have to do tonight, and, well, I'm fine with going by myself."

His face shifted tones as he further attempted his tactics crafted to convince me. "It is arranged that Splash and Azure are to accompany you so that a team of suitable elements and capable travellers could defend yourselves until you catch up with the main group."

Disappointment intruded the moment the 'A' word was mentioned, but, on the flip side, having some private hours with the glaceon would provide the perfect atmosphere for me to question her. I hadn't forgotten the conversation I had exchanged with Mynk only yesterday about her suspicious whereabouts. "Alright," I obliged, not discontent with the company, but still resistant to wait until morning to leave.

"The problem surrounding that idea is that, with Splash gone, we do not have any suitable pokémon to guard the berry shack. Another member currently not here is the other guard. He is scheduled to return from his mission tomorrow, when a convenient time for Splash to leave would be." The colony leader kept a steady voice as he didn't spare me the details.

"But...wouldn't that be _inconvenient_ because he would sleep during the day...while we're trying to travel?" I asked, finding tiny holes in his reason large enough to pose questions.

"Splash, you will find, is very adaptable. He is also known for sleepwalking," he chuckled, his gaze transcending into space as if he was visualising this apparently amusing image.

"How about...I leave, and they catch up? That would be okay, wouldn't it?"

His consistent head-shaking dulled my enthusiasm. "I would like you to leave tomorrow."

My impatience and his refusal to listen to reason got my fire going. "But what if this other guard doesn't even come home after we leave? What then? Do we have to wait until he returns?" I felt my fur rising as it tingled on the surface of my skin. However, the lickitung seemed confident – or unfazed, at least – that his followers wouldn't let him down. I released a rocky sigh. "...What time can we leave tomorrow?"

The pink pokémon's smile relaxed into his face, and as he arranged some pebbles on the table before him, I could tell he knew he was nearly finished with me. "Be not concerned with tomorrow, young one. Tomorrow will come by itself."

In a huff and a head full of irritation, I tore myself from the large log table and stormed out of his house. Hunched over as I stood for a moment, unsure of where to go, I muttered, "Stupid philosophical crap annoys me to no end."

As I picked a direction – Zhol's house – and began wandering behind the row of houses, my mind turned over the options that tempted me; I could stay like Habib was restricting me to, or I could act on my own desires and escape to pursue the party when _I_ wanted. I wasn't sure if it was a flick of rebellion that piqued my urge to defy orders, or the hunger for adventure I found more than appealing, but it was hardly a tough decision to know I wouldn't be listening to the adviser trying to steer me onto a path I wasn't interested in walking. He was certainly an admirable leader and a pokémon worth knowing, but his explanations for keeping me grounded when I wanted to fly were unsupported and unreasonable.

"Quite familiar with interrogations now?" a cutting voice jabbed, and my belly tightened as I swung my entirety to the left. A green figure possessing a stature of subtle nobility but caution stood no more than two metres away. He was upright and held his scythes in an adaptable position.

My heart pounded as the rigid glare descended from a pedestal of justice, leaking guilt into the slits of my composition. Muscles and tendons stiffened, my jaws compressing without my consent and my tail and mane swelling to prickles. "Sh-Shard," I whispered through gritted fangs.

"I must speak with you," he insisted from the escalating density of the forest so close to the colony's borders.

My body refused to move as his solid gaze failed to lessen, and as seconds passed without another word, it became clear that the scyther's patience had no intention of increasing. Moving would guarantee my ticket to another lecture, attack or threat and attempting an escape would only delay the outcome—and besides, I was up against a scyther. Similar to Zhol and her abilities, a scyther's blinding speed would be impossible to outrun unless my legs suddenly gained turbo boosters and propelled me across ground without rest.

Noting my lack in any movement, Shard hesitated in capturing the ground in front of his foot, but reluctantly forced himself to, and closed the space between us with not more than a foot to spare. "You must tell me," he snapped. "Tell me what happened to Luck, or I'll..." The muscles along part of his jawline on both sides of his face tensed and popped out, and his eyelids dropped over his eyeballs for longer than a usual blink. He didn't raise his arms or grasp me in any way, but his looming frame and anger-riddled expression was influential enough to suggest that, although I suspected he was merely bluffing, I should not test his word. With displeasure and a hint of shame, he uttered, "Or I'll cut your throat."

I swallowed with a jolt of surprise, feeling a lump struggling to pass through my oesophagus as my neck was slightly inclined, and kept my eyes on the same field as his. "You wou—"

"_Tell me_," he growled, his voice low and conspicuous as he watched the road through Den Row for witnesses. Without a minor loss of concentration, the bug and flying type bent further down to meet my ear with his snout, his wings erect. "You will only lose your guilt if you reveal the truth." When my eyes zipped to his again, I could feel them quivering inside my skull. His were serious and unchanging. "I am only interested in what happened to my friend." His nostrils twitched with coursing derision, his breathing reaching my face in strengthening columns. "You don't understand, do you?" he hissed. "Luck – Lakane – is essential to this colony. Along with me, he is Habib's bodyguard. We exist to protect our colony leader in cases of attack or threats, or when he must venture to other colonies for meetings. His feared species provides him with perfect first impressions." His anger remained as he continued. "As well as the useful factors, he was – he _is – _my closest friend, as am I to him. Wynore struggles day and night with her inability to cope without the presence of her mate purely because she cannot cease her worrying, young flareon. Their _cub_," he pressed, becoming more enveloped in his story as he trudged on. "Her name is Bibi. At the moment, she may or may not have a father. _You_ know the answer to this, and yet you keep it from us all? You can cure our curiosity and prevent my suffering—_our _suffering, but you... You keep the secret locked up and bind it to _your_ heart alone in a selfish attempt to dull the truth!"

In a fit of fury, the scyther lost control and, with the flesh edge of his scythe, pushed against my neck and thrust me over into a mess of orange and yellow fur. Fear gripped me as my paws scrambled before he registered my futile effort to flee, and he lunged forward, presenting his scarily sharp blades as his version of blackmail. My position was difficult to hold without ceaselessly shaking as sweat developed faster than I thought possible, my line of sight set firmly on the scyther's weapons. Terror swirled in my belly, dividing to distribute its pain to my chest and my head, fuelling the wild pounding that tested my ability to cope with the menacing threat eating away at my composure. The scyther's fury tangled itself around my throat, and the difficulty to breathe built until I was stabbed with flashbacks of the incident with the armarldo and the morning's memory of Sed's tangible vines.

I was almost convinced Shard's aggression mollified as he came to his senses, but it was barely noticeable before it vanished completely once we heard uneven footsteps and an emission of a low growl. The scyther's attention on me was severed as he flung his spiky head over his shoulder quicker than the blink of an eye and swiftly looked Zhol up and down. She stared back.

I whispered the sneasel's name as my pleading expression flowed in disheartened waves towards her soft spot. Evocation of her empathy would save my skin and display the effects of Shard's impulsive and surprising behaviour. For the continuing brief seconds of Shard's form looming like a raincloud over my body, I didn't stop my internal panic.

The green dual type clambered off me, consciously angling his scythes so they wouldn't stray. I blew a drawn-out shaky breath as my heart settled and my paws regained their mobility, hoisting my body into a sturdy position. I staggered back, eyes focused on Shard as he leaned on his scythes and curved his back. He looked regretful as he hung his head in shame, clenching and unclenching his jaws in turn. As I looked to Zhol, I could tell she wanted strongly to know what had happened, and I figured I should probably fill her in.

"Have you told him yet?" asked the sneasel before I could expel words of my own.

I blinked repeatedly, gazing without a change in my face as she switched her leg up to avoid contact with the ground. "No, I..." I lost my words and became unable to find them again.

She let me be and moved to Shard. She didn't have to speak to convey her disapproval. In response, he looked up. "I overreacted," he admitted in the noblest fashion a pokémon could after having flipped out. I watched as he locked eyes with the sneasel, the perpetual expression of a grave matter racing through the space between them. I could hear the heavy breathing of the precautious scyther dampening the air surrounding his snout, and compared it with my short and sharp respiring. His plea was stronger than mine despite the pitiful position I, not moments ago, had held, and what frightened me more than Shard himself would be Zhol's decision to take his side.

After assessing the situation, she turned to me. "You must tell him," she insisted plainly.

My shoulders lost support and my legs seemed to cave in as I emotionally deflated, facing once again the hardship of secrets. "But, I..." Another stern look silenced me, and I swallowed. Hard.

"Shard is one pokémon," she began, "and you need to start somewhere." She guided my line of sight to the scyther's averted eyes, and I felt my heart pick up its rapid rate. My head began to fill with liquid guilt and as his attention met mine, I flinched involuntarily and nearly took a step back.

"You...you knew?" Shard uttered nearly inaudibly to Zhol, his face stained with an edge of pain and bewilderment. He released feelings of betrayal as he started at her with an open mouth and saddened eyes.

"Yes. I am sorry," she whispered, angling her eyes at the ground. "But it was not my business to intervene."

Silence rode the wind and sifted through the soil as our only movement became the rise and fall of our bellies and the snap and retract of our eyelids. The hostility apparent in his eyes that previously frightened me to my core had subsided, and my only concern appeared to me as my revelation of the truth: that Luck had died. However, as the concept flooded my mind, I realised something. _'If I tell them he died, then they should be satisfied with my answer...' _My ears straightened out and I felt my muzzle twitch. _'They don't need to know I was involved.'_ I scanned the scyther's body in a singular moment and inflated my chest, tightening my paws.

"Please," Shard added with a sigh of hopefulness, having removed his weight from his scythes to stand steadily on two feet. Zhol continued with her unreadable bare face.

"On the ship," I started, exhaling at a sensible pace, "Luck was fighting that...garchomp I mentioned yesterday morning." The bug and flying type's eyes rounded as he seemed to be drawn in to my story. "He was a wonderful fighter." I could tell he was surprised by my use of 'was', but I could only imagine he knew what I was about to say. "Unfortunately, he...he was..." My lips froze, and in a slight act of desperation, the scyther moved a step closer.

"What?" he demanded, his concern outmatching his anger.

"He... He fell off!" I hissed, squeezing my eyelids together. It felt as if a plug had been pulled from my heart, and the wretched fluid drained from the hollows of my head. I revealed my pupils only to the dirt beneath my paws as I uttered, "The beast dealt a fatal blow when Luck wasn't paying attention, and he...he fell off." My words trailed off as I added, "He perished with the waves..."

The wind tickled my fur as it carried with it any prior resentment, and suddenly I felt clean. Wishing to share my feeling, I raised my head, absorbing the abrupt shift in Shard's composure. He was staring ahead at the back of a colony home, and not one part of his body was moving. Both the sneasel and I watched as he exposed his eyes to the wind for so long that they developed a glaze of salt water. It welled on his bottom eyelid and slipped down his smooth green face, and with the twitch of his snout, he blinked it out and strained his head down.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, eyes bound and body tense. A second or two passed, and I wasn't sure what to say. I was about to look to Zhol for clarification when, in a flurry of woe and a subtle whisper of further apologising, he dashed past me, gliding across the campfire grounds and away into the trees.

I threw a glance of worry to my sneasel friend, and she only returned it with modest compassion and reassurance. We knew I had done the right thing, even if it felt horrible to witness Shard's heartbreaking reaction.

"I'm glad I finally told him," I admitted bitterly, still half-concerned about the horrid news.

Zhol nodded curtly and presented the faintest of smiles. I knew she was satisfied with my actions. "Next you must reveal Luck's fate to Wynore."

Immediately I experienced a full-body shiver, and felt my eyes grow as quickly as a sunflora's head in extensive sunlight. "Wh...what?" I gasped, realising she was utterly correct. I nearly panicked as the dark and ice type took a wonky step towards me.

"First, I must show you," she insisted, hobbling past me.

With another groan of displeasure and the turn of my body, I scampered to support her injured foot and thought briefly about her words. I did have to tell Wynore, and I knew that it was better late than never. I couldn't keep it from her forever, and even though I managed to reveal it to Shard, Zhol was right. He was only one pokémon, and although I had to start with him, I couldn't, by any means, finish with him. Eventually the whole colony had to know, but one pokémon at a time would suffice...wouldn't it?

"Where are we going?" I asked once I shook the thought from my head. Although it wasn't going to show me mercy anytime soon, I could at least focus on now instead of on what will be.

"You'll see."

**ooo**

She led me to where she'd initially planned the day before: a small glade with grass that didn't even reach my shoulders while lying down. The space was surrounded by thick and smooth guards of shapeless rock that were each placed only centimetres apart. A ground-meeting triangle of a gap between two tall grey boulders grinned excitedly at our arrival and led us in. The small space would only have fit me, Zhol and a couple of other pokémon. The sneasel had shared with me the fact that nobody had deliberately built the enclosure—from what she knew, anyway. And surprisingly, it hadn't been claimed either. It was located in an expanse of land that sprouted boulders in many places, and the general area progressively became heavier with rock the further north-west one travelled, helping the secret space to remain unveiled. Tall trees also did their jobs of hanging protectively over it, shielding it from intruders who could unearth its whereabouts.

"What is this place?" I wondered aloud, scanning the enclosure with an open maw. _'It's pretty impressive...'_

"It's where I go to think and be alone," she responded casually, lowering herself to a cross-legged seating position a flareon wouldn't at all be capable of emulating.

"Interesting place," I responded coolly, taking my place opposite her. There was hardly a pace between us. "But...why did you want to take me here?"

She pondered for a moment before confessing, "It's special to me. I wanted to show you this place." With a hesitant breath, her gaze on me, she added, "I trust you." To that I grew a responsive smile, and she averted her eyes, seemingly embarrassed to reveal a feeling rare for her to encounter.

"Trust is good," I replied happily. "I trust you too. In fact...you're a really good friend."

Presumably before we dwelled too much on the details of friendship she wasn't accustomed to experiencing, she slipped in, "I also imagined you would want to distance yourself from the Usster Colony until you felt as though you could reveal the...undesirable truth."

I wave of intensity washed through me, but diminished quickly, as I knew I had taken another step towards fulfilling the promise to do so. I only knew I wouldn't get a chance to tell them before I left for the mountains to catch up with the party. "By the way, Zhol. I, uh..." My brows came together and she watched emotionlessly, waiting for a continuation. "Well, I'm gonna be leaving to catch up with the party venturing into the mountains, as per Habib's request."

Her head bowed without haste, and she lifted her eyelids slowly, seeming to be involved in thought. In response she met my gaze and her cheek flickered with the trace of an understanding smile. The action made me smile, and accordingly, my spirits lifted. After brushing through her reaction, I only hoped her acceptance was genuine.

After settling to the point of relaxation, we chatted – well, I blabbered – for a good fifteen or so minutes. After securing myself in the right position, I spent time retelling her about my life with Izante and our humans. I filled her in on some of the many adventures we had together...the assorted events we pulled each other through. Such as the time I tackled her master out the way of an oncoming car in a town we skipped through, or when Izante slipped on a fish at a market and fell flat on her belly...and about all those times I thought I could truly count on her. Back when I couldn't imagine my life without such a supportive best friend. "...Then again, she was never really that supportive," I muttered, rolling my eyes as my mouth formed a half-hearted sarcastic smile. "But, you know... She was still a close friend to me. It meant a lot that I could spend so long with her." I blew through my nose in an effortless chuckle, my gaze slipping and thumping into the earth in the rummaging of my memories. Silence finally wedged between us, and I was quite happy to sit in my spot and feel the thoughts blow around inside my mind.

"If you were to ask me," Zhol began hesitantly, as if she felt like she didn't have the right to input, "I would advise that you...not keep thinking about this. It seems it only pains you." Although slightly forlorn, she was also practical.

I lowered my eyebrows, contemplating her suggestion. I enjoyed reminiscing, and it did give me a pleasant set of memories to remember the leafeon by...but maybe she was right. I didn't want to abandon the thoughts I held so fondly to my heart, but bringing up the topic with unresting repetition surely couldn't benefit me. After all, listening to Zhol was—

"Zhol!" yelled a voice into the chilled evening air.

I saw the dark and ice type's ears draw close to one another, the longer one flickering beforehand. I frowned.

"Aemara wants you back at the clinic!" exclaimed the same pokémon, and although I wasn't sure who it was, it was obvious that it was someone from the colony.

"Expect me soon," the sneasel called with cupped paws, straightening her legs awkwardly as she rose to her feet. She rotated her head back to me. "I've...got to go."

"Are you right to go by yourself?" I asked, rising to my paws. At first she appeared puzzled, but after I glanced quickly to her mangled foot, she seemed to rediscover a friend in comprehension.

"Yes. I'll be fine," she affirmed with a light smile, nodding once before crawling back through the entrance.

Once her last feather-like tail vanished through the rocks, I hung my head, disappointed she had to leave so suddenly. At the same time, since there was not another pokémon around, I was able to have more me time. It was a plan to sleep for a time before sunup, allowing me a few hours of rest before my journey to catch up with the party would commence. So, after stretching with a long string of oxygen to fill my chest, I lay back down and felt my tail encase my legs in its furry depths...as best it could as a petty half. "Goodbye, nighttime. Hello, naptime."

**ooo**

My eyelids lifted with weary fuzziness as grumbling, muffled scrapes slid through my ears. Immediately I made a note of the endless darkness soaking the land, remembering my place in the small enclosure walled off by tall, trusty stones. However, upon the twitch of my ear as the grinding continued, my nostrils identified an unfamiliar scent strong enough to knock the leaves off a tree. A slim tail flicked only a pace in front of me.

"AAHHH!" I squealed, leaping abruptly in response to a dark figure filling my view. In the process of my sudden fright, I thumped against a giant rock behind me, bashing my head and dropping like a...well, a stone until I met the rough ground. I didn't forget the new pokémon, however, and scrambled upright whilst new injuries thudded.

"Awake, are we?" the pokémon teased, his muzzle becoming visible as he rotated his head, which was facing the entrance. He had ceased his clumsy chewing to address me, and before I could adjust my eyes to my newfound dim surroundings, I stared with an open mouth, panting heavily. A section of my spine whinged with pain.

"Y...you," I growled, my voice hushed and my eyes narrowed. I recognised this male fire type.

"Yep, me. And you too, Flair," he stated casually, waiting a moment before turning back to his bone.

My eyes fired up and I strengthened my pose, curling my lips into a snarl. "By Arceus," I shouted incredulously, "it was YOU! Wasn't it?!"

With a light furrow of the brow, the houndoom rose to his paws, turning around to face me. It was only then when I realised he was reasonably larger than I was, and I was secretly tempted to cower in his shadow. "Yep," he responded coolly, eyelids resting lazily on his eyeballs as he flashed his teeth. "I told those bibarel that you'd be willing to help them."

"You _what_?" I questioned with indignation coating each syllable. In a fit of rage, my muzzle twitched, loosing a line of flames onto the houndoom's pelt. I hoped it would singe his fur until he smoked like a hairless rattata on a spit, but half his element was fire, unfortunately acting as a barrier against attacks such as flamethrower.

As the stream of heated energy dissolved into mere cinders, the houndoom stood, almost unfazed. He revealed his eyes once more and stared with question and calmness. However, I didn't think I got my point across.

After a measured brewing of acid forming somewhere in my torso, I vomited a sickly toxic paste which so graciously blanketed the unsuspecting houndoom, following which was a shadow ball composed not of the materials required to injure a dark type. When my ordeal neared its end, I eyed him off and snorted, "Stuff you."

"...You finished?" he murmured through the coating of purple liquid, coughing as he shook off and rubbed against the wall. It seemed none of my attacks had left a mark or even an emotional effect, provoking my agitation and warranting a sneer. He reeked of patronisation.

"Yeah..." I growled with reluctance, fluffing myself up and averting my vengeful glare. Remembering my reason for anger, I turned back to him. "Do you know how annoying it was to have to stay there and be forced to help?"

think I got my point across. and stared with question. as fire, unfortunately acting as a barrier against attacks such as flam

He chuckled, hardly aware of the measly after-effects of the poison. "What was so bad about it? You learned something, didn't you, Flair?"

My cheek flickered with frustration. "Yeah. That I hate houndoom." Holding his gaze firmly to jab his game in its gut, I hissed, "And don't call me that!"

"You know that was me who saved you when you nearly fell into the river there, right?" A smile licked his face.

"You..." My face melted from a detailed frown to a lacking look of curiosity, and I burrowed into the memories of the other day to uncover truth to his words. The recollection of the forgettable event rolled into my mind, and I momentarily wondered why I didn't scent him at the time. However, the rushing river off the cliff I nearly tumbled over would have masked any additional smell that would not normally have avoided detection. As angry as I was at him, he did save me from an unfortunate tumble, so to speak. That river could have carried me anywhere.

"That river could have carried you anywhere," he reinstated, mirroring my thoughts with scary likeliness. "Provided I didn't come to your gallant rescue, that is."

"Don't think that makes us even," I snapped, enraged once more. A smirk formed across his jaws. "And if you were so gallant, why didn't you show yourself till now? You sound more cowardly than fearless."

"Every houndoom has to look out for himself, right?" He shrugged, helping his tail to dance. "Told you your perfect nickname is Flair," he chuckled, disappearing with a playful scamper through the exit.

I forced an elongated string of air from my nose and pouted my lips, following. Once I greeted the night air, I observed the many dozing trees and plants and stretched my limbs, finally allowed the everlasting space. I craned my neck at the Moon and her sleeping children who dotted the inky sky, remembering the task I had wanted to awake around this time to commence. "Oi," I began, gaining the houndoom's attention as he nibbled at presumable flees or something alike on a section of his back. "What are you even doing here?" Realising he had appeared on more than a few occasions in the same spot as me in recent time, I hardened my glare. "Are you stalking me?" An alarming thought paired itself with the question: what if he was a Rocket or Rokont – whichever – spy told to follow me and gather information on the culprit of the recently sunken ship? The possibility dawned on me, and for a moment he was no longer friend, but foe.

"Aren't I allowed to tail a fellow fire type in a bore-induced endeavour?" he asked, swishing his tail in such a way that made my claws twitch. He was clearly enjoying himself.

I narrowed my eyes, however, and kept my glare on the bones hugging his back. His untamed gaze lay upon my face, waiting for me to make a move. Understanding his game, I shifted my head to the treetops, pretending to act somewhat entranced. He turned back to his pelt and nibbled. Catching his act from the corner of my attention, I seized the chance to escape. Swiftly I moved through the undergrowth, crunching leaves in the process, and dodged the thick obscuring tree trunks and their more subtle roots. Within no more than thirty seconds, my breath was quickening as I exercised my limbs, and my heart pounded to drive me forward. Due to swift movements and a steady pace, I reached the colony grounds in approximately five minutes.

I initiated my abrupt stop before passing onto their soil, and I scanned the area. Habib's den was to my left a fair way up, and the arrangement of logs and a bonfire lay out in the field close to the lake that governed the southwest corner. I was not far from it, observing form the lower west, contemplating my array of selectable actions. I kept low and concealed myself behind a bush while noting the few pokémon still roaming, often in pairs, who had not retreated from the dark to their homes. I saw Krinn and Yukra, with a sleeping Mosst attached to the larger heracross' shell, exchanging hushed chatter near the logs, and a female floatzel who I had yet to meet hovering on the surface of the lake. I knew I had to be careful and quiet if I was to make it across their grounds without being spotted, but I had the darkness to hide me and knowledge of stealth. Well...I liked to think so, anyway. I had always managed to creep up on Izante and give her frights without her noticing, and usually she was rather alert. Crossing the territory was probably easier than it sounded, especially considering I could fabricate a reason for my night wandering if I was caught. Some flareon (presumably the non-trainer types) were nocturnal, and for all they knew, I too followed that habit.

After distant rustling and suppressed paw pattering, I lowered my brow into an impatient frown. "So, what are we looking at?" the houndoom inquired, sliding his intruding head over my mane whilst radiating excitement.

With a violent shrug, I rolled my shoulder and stepped to the left, screwing my nose into a display of my irritation. "Leave me alone," I muttered, spelling out each word in the hopes that they would somehow squelch through his head and into his brain—or pickle. Whatever the substitute for the organ was.

"C'mon, Flair," he whined in his husky, restless tone. "Take me for a run."

"Screw. You," I retorted, monitoring my volume to avoid detection. In an effort to be rid of the haughty dark type, I exposed myself and scuttled up the border, my awareness set on Yukra and Krinn, and finally stepped onto the soft grass in varied spots between Habib's house and Den Row's outer hut. Sure enough, the houndoom pursued me. As reluctant as I was to acknowledge it, he was perhaps even more surreptitious than me, but there was no way those words would exit my mouth on a direct path to his – Arceus knows where they are – ears.

"Tell me your plan," he insisted, each of his words provoking my agitation.

"Shut up, will you?" Looking back to the bug type and the electric type, I assessed the situation. If I moved further up and crossed Den Row, I could stick close to Aemara's clinic and slip by unnoticed. If this burdensome stalker would unlatch himself, that was. "Why are you even here?" I growled, throwing my glower at his face while keeping my crouched position. I could feel my tail brushing the ground.

"I was bored, and we never got a chance to meet properly," he shrugged, apparently immune to my scorn.

I moved past Habib's house and was crossing a gap between homes when I stopped to address him. "Well you've named me 'Flair', and I know you as 'Idiot'. I think we're set." I eyed the two male colony members as their conversation continued, Yukra's arms flailing about as he explained an inaudible situation. I was suddenly reminded of my master. I whirled back 'round to the dual type. "So scram."

He merely chuckled, however, lifting a paw in response as his brow raised. The familiar smug smile stretched the length of his muzzle, and he emitted a mocking, "Ooh." It was obvious he didn't possess any degree of maturity.

"Take me seriously!" I demanded, perhaps a fraction too loudly as Krinn slapped a finger to his mouth.

His suspicious gaze scanned the campus as we ducked in an effort to remain hidden, but it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do when moving would mean more sound, and holding our positions with little cover meant risk of our sighting. However, the houndoom practiced no hesitation to creep almost soundlessly to my right side, becoming stationary as he obscured any pokémon's view of me from Krinn's angle with his black body. As handy as I found it, I grunted with displeasure upon the realisation that I had nearly given myself away due to a careless outburst.

As the electric pokémon reconsidered his previous evaluation, my ears relaxed and I released a bottled sigh. He and his friend must have decided to split as they separated and went their separate ways to their homes, during which time I copped an expectant, self-assured expression from the pokémon still elongated alongside me.

"What?" I grumbled, dropping the word like a solid rock.

"You're welcome," he replied, his eyes following the heracross and his niece until they disappeared from view.

My eyes rolled in their sockets and I recommenced my watchful paces, eventually reaching Aemara's house and the adjoined clinic. Not a pokémon in sight, we crept behind the waterhole and past Mynk's house adjacent to the cluster of trees which separated Den Row from the daycare. The dark and fire type's steps didn't lessen as I whispered continual threats and minor insults to him, and merely let them slide from his pelt as if he had a downing like a ducklett.

Approaching the northeast exit of the colony grounds, the path I walked when Zhol and Shard took me hunting, something large captured my attention. Whipping my head to the right, in the direction of the daycare, my eyes seemed to distinguish a house from a pokémon, which soon morphed into an ursaring. The pains in my stomach returned, and I felt my cheek tingle with the great sensation of the impact from an ursaring's paw. The shame repainted itself across my chest and dotted sections of my face, flaunting its quantity with blatant immodesty.

Wynore was excavating outside her home by scooping armfuls of soil and stacking it onto the mound she had created, repeating the process as the hole expanded in size. Her reasons for doing something like that were either not apparent or flew straight between my ears, because I wasn't able to fathom, in the short time I watched her from the back, why she would spend time transferring dirt. My initial guess sprung to my mind as a grave, which pushed chills down my spine as I questioned whose grave it would be.

"Flair," the houndoom whispered with a gravelly edge. I expected him to continue, but when he didn't, I reallocated my gaze and ensured I was crouching. Just outside the border, the houndour evolution stood side-on, but his focus was not on me. Instead, his attention was in the arms of a small honey-brown pokémon, her forehead's crescent moon pattern emanating a dim glow of light.

"Bibi," I mumbled, the word falling from my mouth as I recalled the several mentions of her name. Shooting one last gaze to Wynore, I moved off the open field and across the border, my limbs tingling with the allurement of rebellion. I sealed the gap between the three of us, excited and attempting to produce a smile, but unsure of myself and guilty that I was leaving the teddiursa and her mother without a proper answer. I could assume that Shard may tell them, but I couldn't know for certain.

"Where's my daddy?" the small pokémon inquired, her words high pitched like a typical youngling, but heavy with concern and uncertainty.

My eyes enlarged and my lips withdrew into the care of my teeth, and I felt my front legs twitch. I flashed my attentive glance at the more settled houndoom, noticing my frantic mannerisms, and let it rest on the teddiursa once more. "Your father..." Holding my tongue but finding no reason to induce fantasies in the child's mind, I decided she earned the truth. "Your father's not coming back. I'm...I'm sorry."

Taking no further chances, I tore myself from the normal type, raced past the houndoom and fled through the forest with my half-tail rippling in my wake.


	23. Chapter Twenty-three: Separate Paths

**Chapter Twenty-three: Separate Paths**

I was hardly aware or mindful of the noise the rustling would have produced as I seared across the forest floor. I may have been startling nearby sleeping pokémon for the second I was in their presence and arousing trees, but their desires were not prominent on my list. My thoughts raced as my legs followed, dodging trees as I mulled over my brisk decision to blurt out something that could harm that child forever.

However, the information was absolutely necessary. Holding in such a terrible secret for much longer could have driven me insane, and, as I realised, it was more important that I not keep such a thing to myself... Bottling it up only caused things to continue turning sour, and I certainly wasn't winning myself any points of wisdom. The realisation was a shocking one; at first I thought that because the secret was my burden, I mattered the most...that I was most affected. But keeping a secret to myself, one that should be shared with the entire colony to sooth their concerns, seemed newly absurd.

The sick feeling of selfishness seeped through my skin, soaking my flesh and snaking along my veins. I tried to shed the layer of guilt as I leapt through the brush, stamping the soil flat, only to have its grass spring back up after I passed through. My leg muscles buzzed as I galloped between trunks and my tail fluttered uncomfortably through the air as the difference between a normal tail and half a tail surprised me again, as it did each time I noticed. Progressively my throat became drier, and dampening it was the only solution.

Deciding to focus my attention on finding a stream of water, I switched on my directional senses and slowed to a jog. My jaws eased into separation to allow a circulation of air to cool my internals. It wasn't difficult to detect any site of importance, as the wind flowed in my direction during the time in which I scented it, so after a short minute, I stumbled upon a stream. Coming to the edge of the river, I monitored my paws, ensuring that they didn't slip on the bank's mud. When my toes squelched in the mud and my eyes had fixed themselves warily to the calm body of water, my mind was cast back to the minutes before I had been apprehended weeks ago by the armaldo.

I ruffled my mane in an effort to feel the light breeze weave between its many strands of fur and leaned down. My muzzle submerged and I sealed my eyelids, gulping water by the mouthfuls. I raised my head and parted my jaws to inhale wisps of oxygen between drinks, and returned thoughtlessly to the stream. My vision trailed across slimy rocks, focusing on the occasional one that jutted from the bottom and intersected the flow, the light catching the sparkling liquid and highlighting rises in the current. Separately were the stones that protruded and exposed their surfaces to the air. They quietly reminded me of fins of pokémon that wanted to feel the steady breeze stroke their skin—something they were deprived of underwater. I reminded myself that I was thankful for a life on land.

As my vision rolled over the rocks, pinpointing the reeds poking from the stream, it stopped at a set of irregular black shapes appearing at the left of my body. I knew I would encounter them, however, and it was clear whose paws they were. The houndoom stayed himself, my eyes still and out of view of his face, before I noticed his elbows flex. A chest pointed with orange lowered, a muzzle of the same orange dipping into the water. His eyes were closed, as mine had been, and it was a moment before he opened them directly on me, mine on his. He retracted his head as I remained still; I didn't follow him up, instead looking away when his face was out of sight.

"What was that all about?" he finally questioned, his voice as casual as I had expected. His legs were unmoving; I knew he meant for me to answer. It was probably a confusing sight for him to witness. I had thought that, judging by my silence, it was obvious I intended not to provide him with a clear response. He didn't seem to understand. "Hey. Flair." He ducked his head, eying me from the side.

As I failed to move, aside from the infrequent blink and my heaving chest, he rose and sprung, clearing the narrow stream with a meagre shred of effort. From the other side, he was able to lean over the rushing water and draw my eyes. Somehow the temptation worked, and I pulled my line of sight further up. With the clench of my jaw, I pushed on my paws into a stand, took off and followed the stream upriver.

It was nearly immediately that the fragmentation of leaves and snapping of twigs from the opposite side reached my ears, and with a scowl I turned my head away from the houndoom, or 'Idiot.' He hardly, if at all, deserved anything more dignifying.

"Come on, Flair! You can't just run away," he called, apparently keen on changing my mind. His efforts would be wasted.

"I beg to differ!" I shouted, but blinked sharply in response. I hadn't meant to speak aloud.

My nose twisted in irritation as I imagined his satisfied smirk. He _definitely _understood that I was not intent on discussing it. Given the situation, he would be proud, or just smug, to have gotten me to talk.

We ran a little longer before my ears twitched to the sound of the undergrowth's disturbance hastening; he was increasing his pace. Within a number of seconds, the dark type had gained the appropriate ground to leap across the stream, and I wasn't sure where he had planned to land, but in the split second before we collided, I knew he had miscalculated.

Together his foolish plunge had sent us rolling to my left, and in a mingle of legs and paws, we scuffed along pointed sticks and gravelly ground. Several of my muscles were battered, as well as my left cheek, the bone having clobbered a stone and taken the impact. I tried my best to keep my legs drawn and my head tucked, but the force of the collision launched us at such a velocity that it was difficult to keep track of any voluntary action. My vision was nothing but a muck of blurs when the foliage smudged by, and momentary darkness as I became downturned to the soil and sealed my eyelids together. I emitted yelps of protest and anger as we tumbled, and finally we slowed, body parts folding over each other before we came to a heaving halt. The ordeal had provoked the resurrection of my fury, and traces of my guilt and worry slowly slipped from my grasp.

"What the _hell _were you THINKING?!" I cried, snapping my limbs away from him and rising to my paws.

With a half-heated chuckle, the houndoom pressed his front paws against the ground, the rest of his body limp against the ground. "Didn't work out as planned."

"Oh, _really_," I snapped bitterly, fur risen and pupils tiny with derision. I began to notice the small spots of pain bleeding through my muscles. They would only show as tiny bruises later, but for the moment they pulsed in assorted places. My face was going to bruise as well, even if the purple colouration wouldn't show up through my fur.

"You don't have to be so mad," he suggested, tone raised in a mildly bemused but bewildered manner.

"Stay out of my way," I barked, claws puncturing the earth as I turned and fled again, nearly stumbling at first. I regained my stature and trudged on, speeding through the forest as I had done so many times before.

I had no idea where I was headed, but I needed to run. Running occupied my mind; the more twigs that jabbed my paw pads and the many grains of dirt wedging between my toes to help with distraction, the better. Yet I knew such futile attempts to rid myself of the sad reality of my lies and the truth were no less than excuses to lead me astray from what I had to face. It was my fault that I withheld vital information so selfishly, and in doing so, I should have realised that I endangered, even just mentally, the ones who suffered in turn. I had failed to see that I was not the only one on the end of the tipping scales; others were beginning to teeter and fall because of the imbalance I instigated, and yet I only sought solitude for myself.

'_That poor baby teddiursa...' _

Sourly my mind walked the figurative path of destruction I had torn in my wake and encountered Wynore, distraught beyond what I had previously considered. The ursaring had lost her mate, her lifelong friend, and duty to provide her with some closure was assigned to me, but I had been too cowardly. Slouched beside her was Shard, the loyal and caring support who had propped the ursaring up since they had met. His eyes were still with shame, his spine curved and head dangling above the unearthed soil.

Further up the path, a mangy teddiursa – Bibi – wailed silently, mouth gaping and eyes frantic with fear. Her fur was matted and tangled; she was desperately deprived of a loving touch, and could perceive only confusion and loss. Along the path were countless pokémon lined in a row either side of the road, each one oblivious to another's presence. They too had suffered at my paws, and it was that very thought which gnawed at the rawest section of my mixed mind.

I had only one flareon to blame, and so did they.

**ooo**

Cloud-like wings sliced the air with long strokes, the white fluffiness resting atop the current as if the wind ignored its presence and treated it as kin. Each wing beat steadied the blue pokémon increasingly each time, and her small eyes scanned the treetops as she surveyed the lands from far above. The sunlight pulsed onto her head in a warm wave and pleasantly rolled down her back; had her wings been darker, the sun would have soaked her with heat that would lead to sweat. The thickness of her feathers compensated for the whiteness, however, and heated her unnecessarily anyway.

She tossed her head about, observing as the tall family of frosty mountains in the near distance seemed to grow in size with each passing metre. She would have to return again with the same answer; Derino's pestering did not alter the course before them, and neither did the impatience in his stride or the frequency of which he persisted she check. Her gaze seemed to flicker back and forth as she tried to mentally gather the distance to relay to the travelling party.

She blinked a few times in succession and then wheeled around, retracing her figurative steps as she began to return to the party. She once more assessed the upcoming scenery as she flew back, and began a steep descent to the treetops within a matter of minutes. She weaved through branches and avoided trunks before she exposed her talons and drove her legs into the soil. She came to a halt after a few paces and gazed about, spotting the party further ahead as she twisted her neck.

Heaving a sigh, she picked herself up and glided to catch up with them, landing beside a cream figure with a green helmet that curled to a point just below his forehead. Two red prongs, one each side of the scalp, complimented the single button of the same colour on the pokémon's otherwise green chest.

He whirled to face her, raising one of his green arms. "News, Fluffy?" he teased, legs shrouded with what looked like cream pants walking him sideways.

"It's not news that I'll dragonbreath your face off if you persist with that stupid nickname," she snapped, her small, rounded beak hardly threatening. "But I'll still do it."

The krinar shrugged, pretending his words were not to be taken offensively. "Your choice if you don't wanna play along." He turned back around and whispered something inaudible to the pokémon of similar form beside him. Her cream dress-like attire, frilling at the bottom where it reached her thin thighs, swayed calmly as she walked. Never did her heels touch the soil.

Tarla ignored the obnoxious psychic type and ducked ahead, appearing by the side of the pokémon apparently leading the four. Before she could manage anything, the lilac figure had flicked his head at her and opened his wide maw. "How far?" he demanded, his tone harbouring little patience.

"The mountains don't move," Tarla muttered. "I don't see why I have to keep checking."

"Because I want to know how far away we are," he grumbled, eyes pressed upon by heavy brows. "It doesn't inconvenience you to check!"

"Derino, we _know _it'll take three to four days to get there. There's no point in checking if we know the path and know the time it will take," she protested, agitation scattered across her face.

"I don't care. I want to know when I want to know, and you're the only one that can fly ahead to check." His gruff voice aided the unreasonable effects that Tarla deemed one of the normal type's less redeeming qualities.

"And they're my wings," she concluded, and, grumbling under her breath, took wing and rested in a high branch nearby. She began preening some wing fluff as she ignored the three below her who passed in no time, and reasoned to herself that she could catch up at any time of her choosing.

With lingering annoyance drifting to the back of her mind, the altaria looked up, admiring a sight she not often had the privilege to witness. The darkness surrounding her which was blotched with spotlights felt more embracive than stifling. The autumn colours of gold and ochre mingled across the forest floor were highlighted in patches by the breaks in the canopy, and trunks stretched far above ground level, their great branches spanning across overhead to sprout forest green sheets of leaves. Each tree stood a measured distance from its neighbours; it was patterned that way for leagues in each direction, creating a comfortable, organised environment. One would feel protected from aerial predators scouring the forest for prey above the treetops, although walking along the ground presented an openness many would consider overexposure. There was nowhere to conceal oneself, as shrubs and bushes were not overly abundant. The warmth encasing the surrounding area was comforting, however, and often detracted from any negative qualities. That was the feel of Torqueal Forest.

She sighed as she marvelled at the sight before her, noting that their journey through this part was to be a short one; by nightfall they would be well away from the beautiful trees as they neared the enormous mountains. Their frostiness stretched across rocky terrain as a slope built up to flat ground and dipped into a valley. She knew the valley's paths split into several directions through the mountains and was home to many caves and rough routes.

With a spacey gaze, she envisioned an event long ago involving those mountains. She remembered the bitter sting that the wind forced upon her face, prioritising endurance and shelter and minimising such feelings as emotion.

The chill weaved through even her thick wings and seemed to freeze up her bones as it surged past. She once again reminded herself that her small, round body was less than adequate for surviving such a demanding climate, yet the choice to do so was evidently not hers. She heavily resented what had happened back with her flock... They made a foolish decision, and although she was glad she was away and far distanced from them before she was forced into anything she didn't have a want for. The thought shook her confidence and scraped at her beacon of understanding. It was difficult to comprehend why they would make such a decision. It made no sense.

"_You are a part of this flock," _they had told her, eyes perfectly rounded as they loomed over her small body. _"You are one of us. You will comply with the flock's wishes." _

She imagined their cruel presence in her mind, their great wings nearly camouflaging with the troublesome blanket of thick, whipped snow coating the grounds their feet sank into—the same snow they sought to avoid every year at the same time. It was their season to migrate, and yet this time...the flock had decided against tradition, but more importantly, against reason.

"_To participate in actions separate to ours would be abandonment; traitorous." _Her eyes glared directly in front, through the fall of sporadic snowflakes. Her beak pressed tighter together. _"You will be banished!"_

The last words stabbed her way were followed by harsh attacks designed to frighten; she was only small, and the four altaria driving her back were beyond intimidating. She shook in her feathers at their brisk snaps and flutter of their wings. She knew the cloud-like arrangement of feathers appeared inoffensive, but to an experienced reciprocator, they were large, suffocating and dangerous. She had needed to flee. The risk was growing, and in the rapidity of their threats and accompanying actions, she was driven back, nearing one of the many cliff edges defining their territory. She was aware that it was an act of condemnation rather than a means to injure her. And even though she knew no physical harm could come from her fall off the cliff, she was horrified that she understood plainly what it meant, and what its purpose was.

It was how they banished traitors.

Knowing she would be forced off the edge without first having a chance to turn and spare herself the shame by flittering away, she had tumbled and rolled, their nips evolving to clamps and the sting of their dragonbreaths beginning a more focused assault. She hurried her backward pace every time she was able to make it to her feet before she was knocked down again.

As her wings cut through the drifting snow, she cringed. She had been driven over the edge. She was unable to salvage even a trace of dignity as she had spiralled down, the wind rushing against her face. A single elder dropped down after her in rapid pursuit. After a swift struggle to capture the wind, she had taken flight and escaped the diving altaria with a timed roll, and flapped furiously away, eager to jam at least a few mountains between her and the flock. She knew she was the one who had betrayed them by opposing their wishes and adhering to hers before theirs, but...she couldn't help feeling it was her that was betrayed, and that her flock was the traitor.

The hardest part was the look. The look in her younger sister's eye as she had tussled backwards in the effort produced by the elders, ironically deemed wise, before her sweet face was abruptly obscured. Their masses had absorbed any vision she had of her only family, and although she was marginally relived the younger pokémon didn't have to see her last moment of exile, she was saddened. She had wanted to see her, to know that she was still there, even if it was while shame was flooding through her mind. She was deeply troubled that her last communication had to be in the worst moment, when not even words could be shared. For that she was thankful in a way; she couldn't bare more pleading and more conveyance of desperation and disappointment. It was mutual, in light of her insistence for her sister to join her cause and stray from the flock's foolish choices, which made their last exchange of words with one another a painful repetition of pleas and refusals. She knew that her sister enjoyed it as little as she, but the discomfort of their situation alone was little to do with its beginning and end. It ended when she was called to offer her cause before the elders, so they could present their judgement. Her reputation and whatever position she may have hoped to gain in the future were lost; she had tarnished any chance she had at a purpose in her flock.

**ooo**

My belly was starting to rumble as my apparent new companion and I stalked the dimming forest in no effort to find food, but to simply move ourselves along, despite the fact that it was growing closer to night. We had stopped for a long while in order to rest a time after passing the area around which Shardclaw, Zhol and I had attempted to hunt the day before, where vegetation was sparse. Because of this break, I was reluctant to waste any more time—the party would be a fair way ahead already, and if we didn't make an effort to catch up, they would very well reach the hideout before we had a chance to meet with them. I knew that travelling through the night while they slept was a most suitable plan, and I didn't care if the dual type following me had objections. Truthfully I had objections of my own, but I dared not voice them; questioning my own orders would encourage him to whine or complain, then justify his protests by pointing out that I was first to voice my annoyance.

I was no good with numbers or estimations, but I knew that we would have to run for large portions of the journey in order to reach them. I had no problem with that, and apparently the houndoom didn't either, but...running _with _him was the thing that irked me. He had been pretty quiet most of the day, and sometimes didn't respond when I made comments or asked him about something. It was probably his silent revenge for my attitude toward him, but in all honesty, he deserved whatever came to him.

We began to descend a slope of an unusual amount of grass, and I briefly wondered how it was so green amongst the general brown around these parts. It was not something I was familiar with, but imagined that a certain pokémon probably lived nearby that cared for the soil. After we reached the bottom of the hill, the angle of the ground nearly catching me off guard and almost faltering my legs, we came to another part of the forest which had been virtually the same as before. The trees were fairly faded and some were a tiny bit grim, but mostly they were welcoming and partly cosy. I thought that, if some homes and dens were built, this forest would house a group of pokémon very well. Of course, I preferred the luxury of a more developed space, but every community had to begin with a single idea.

"Hey, Flair," the houndoom began, striding a few paces behind me, "do you actually know where we're going?"

I furrowed my brow at the question. Of course I knew where I was going. I wouldn't be blindly leading myself and one other through random territory I wasn't familiar with if I didn't have direct instructions to where the hideout was. "Yes," I told him simply, not deeming the answer important enough to require elaboration.

"A'right," he accepted, giving a brisk nod I hardly picked up on from my peripherals.

I exhaled and tried to clear my mind as I padded on, picking up the pace into a jog. I imagined he would immediately question my pace increase and make some kind of snide remark, but surprisingly he said nothing. I suddenly wondered if he was backing off to allow me room for the possibility of liking him and accepting him as a temporary – for I would never allow such a pokémon to permanently accompany me – companion. It was entirely possible, since he knew that my temper could definitely judge somebody before my head did, and so far he was pretty much only been judged by my angry temperament. It was his own fault, and I was not prepared to take any sort of responsibility for his actions.

After a while of moving, I noticed that the temperature was beginning to drop bit by bit. It was such a small change that my constantly heated body barely noticed, and I was hardly fazed as I kept going. The houndoom, being a fire type as I was, probably shared the inability to notice temperature changes very easily. I wasn't all that interested in asking him, but one question certainly gnawed at my mind—a question that annoyed me to know end. The thing was that if I asked this question, I knew it would get me nowhere, and I would be quite annoyed with the results. I reasoned with myself that I was already expecting the answer, and a specific one at that, so there was no point in trying to hope for another one. And if I was expecting one in particular, why would I bother to show hesitation to ask it, for the reason of being dissatisfied by the answer? It was a pretty confusing notion, but I shoved it out the way and just decided to ask.

"So...why exactly are you following me?" I questioned, turning my head to the left as we carried on, and he skipped a few paces, lengthening his strides momentarily to catch up. He was beside me in no time.

"Because I believe you're foolish," he told me simply, shrugging a bit as he jogged on.

"Foolish?!" I spat, eyes clouding with a scowl entailing minor confusion. "I'm the foolish one? Oh, I'm sorry—I thought the stalker without areason to stalk somebody who, I might add, has no desire to be stalked, would be the pokémon considered foolish." I rolled my eyes, straining them as I kept them angled to show my immense annoyance at this houndoom. He was arrogant and had no cause to make such an accusation. Even if that was not the answer I had been expecting, it was no better.

"I have a reason," he commented, and my head hovered toward him in a short swivel around. I was confident I would not run head-on into any trees as I faced him, so continued without heed of direction.

"Oh, do you now? And what might that be?"

His sights were set before us, at the trees in the distance, as he admitted, "You have no idea what you're doing."

The answer shocked me a little. I heard my brain fall silent as I considered what he had told me. "I have no idea what I'm doing," I restated flatly. "_That _is your claim?" I scoffed, finding no evidence to support his words, and saw no harm in challenging the absurd statement. "If you're gonna insult me, at least choose something that's true to use against me." Immediately after I said that, I frowned, reconsidering. No, I didn't want to hear him insult me about something that was true, either. It was less than ideal to hear my faults.

"It's not made absent foundations," he responded, and my mind suspended all thought again, although my legs continued to hurry me along.

"Hey," I growled lowly, the houndoom coming to a stop as I did the same. I faced him with my body braced and my head down, while he stood upright and without assumption of power or defence. "I was given specific instructions pointing me in the direction of this hideout, you know. _I'm _the one who knows it's abandoned, and _I'm _the one who was given the task to go and find the party." I raised my head and snorted. "Of course I know what I'm doing!"

At that I felt surely justified. Of course, I didn't _need _to provide him with any viable justification, but it felt good to know I was confident about my abilities and the fact that I had been assigned to the task.

The houndoom's lips curved into a smile, peeling back to reveal his stained pointed teeth. I was once again surprised by his actions. "You don't know what you're doing," he reinformed quite confidently, and, the grin still painted on his face, began in the direction we were headed before our paws claimed the same patch of soil for an extended period. The way he sauntered off greatly irritated me, and I could feel my jaw starting to spread with the growing pressure of clenching them tightly together. He was clearly amused by the obliviousness he most likely assumed I possessed, like he found himself to be of much higher importance.

"What do you mean?" I demanded, leaping after him. As he heard my strides, however, I saw a flash of his playful – and completely unwarranted – grin before his bounding fasted, slowing as I slowed to allow me the chance to catch up. He waved his tail playfully and began walking in a peculiar fashion obviously intended to be comical. I was not amused.

He was teasing me. _TEASING _me! With a twitch of my muzzle, I suddenly shot forward with a burst of speed, watching as he was quick to catch on and sprung off the ground, racing away. He was too fast for me, and as my little legs repeated mechanical actions, I was highly agitated to find that I didn't nearly match his pace. Immediately my mind went to Zhol, and I scowled as I wished she were here. She would be able to put him in his place.

Blowing smoke through my nostrils, I galloped on, chasing him between trees and in circles over dwarfish hills. At one point he splashed through the river we had been loosely following, clearly elated far beyond my mood, and seemed unaffected as the water clung to his fur and smoothed it flat. I quickly stopped myself before I had the chance to plunge into the shallow waters, slamming my paws down to unearth the soil and bring me to a halt. I eyed the water with wide-eyed caution and a twinge of fear as I shook my head brusquely, tearing myself away from it to travel back in the direction I had been headed before that wretched houndoom had led me on a wild pursuit. I disapproved greatly of his angering behaviour, and grumbled to myself under my breath as I considered his glaring immaturity.

"Such are males," I growled to myself.

As I stalked off, shoulders hunched and mane fuzzed up around my face, I tried to figure out exactly what he meant. My mind was struggling to come up with anything that made a reasonable amount of sense. I knew that the houndoom was quite fond of teasing me, it seemed, and provoking my tempter, but somehow I sensed he was being truthful, or as truthful as he could have been in his own mind. It was displeasing that he doubted me, because apparently I only had my own faith in myself to draw from and utilise.

I didn't dwell on the question too much, and instead drew a breath, resetting my mind so I could think something about food. At least food didn't intentionally aim to piss me off.

**ooo**

Tarla stretched her wings, elevating herself to beat them against the air and create gushing gales of wind. It gave her shoulders the repeated movement they needed to keep well and gave her a calming sense of comfort. She tucked them beside her body as she hopped up and settled onto a low-hanging branch under the tree of which the three other party members took shelter. It was open, quite exposed to the rest of the forest, but the atmosphere was tranquil, and it seemed as if nothing would dare disturb their quiet night. She assumed nobody else would want to be disturbed either and bother themselves with pointless efforts to initiate a fight. Four experienced battlers were not to be reckoned with, especially if no harm was intended by them, and no cause for alarm needed to be raised.

"You're right up there, Fluffy?" the krinar from below called up with a chuckle, a knee bent as he rested an elbow against it, the rest of his arm hanging. His left arm extended behind him for support. Beside him was the kirlia, who sat silently with crossed legs. The granbull was keeping himself occupied with sticks varying in length and thickness around the other side of the trunk.

The altaria gave him a sneer of contempt, turning away whilst pressing her beak together. She heard the ralts evolution question her actions and feign innocence, although Tarla had a feeling he really did believe himself not guilty. That was not of concern to her, however; she wanted some peace and quiet, eager to enjoy Torqueal Forest in all its serenity without an oblivious krinar to present constant irritation on a silver platter. He was a dark red stain of pure annoyance, like a jabbing toothpick in her side, which she had originally found slightly disappointing, but had figured that not many others were as mature as she. It would come with age and experience, she told herself, and long awaited the day he would grow out of it.

Blocking him out didn't seem to work, however, and as he babbled on, half addressing her in the process, she wondered if his sole purpose was to serve as a sort of symbol for everything annoying that had ever come into existence. The prospect would hardly come as a surprise to her, though, and silently she was thankful that he was incapable of any such ability as cloning himself. She didn't know how she would cope if there were _two _of him.

Sick of his voice, the dragon and flying type launched herself off her perch, her back to the small party as she carved an unscheduled path through the air. Her mind swirled with irritation as she heard the cries of the krinar protesting for her return and claiming apologies that she knew meant nothing. It wasn't long before he presumably gave up, and she exhaled once more, certain that she was not going to be returning for the night. She figured that in the morning, when they passed, she would join up with them. Either that or she would fly ahead by herself.

Finding a suitable tree to spend the night, she climbed the night air and landed her feet on a branch. The smooth bark with raised freckles were comfortable under her scaly toes, and as she shaped herself and felt her feathers settle, she knew she had chosen the right tree with the right branch. Fluffing up, she thought about the next day, when she would probably be asked once again by Derino to again determine their estimated time of arrival at the mountains. If not an estimation of time, then of distance. It was as if he didn't understand that such vast land was not going to shift at any point during their journey.

Her mind lingered on the thought of those mountains. She again reminded herself of their significance to her. They were both her home and the only place she had been expelled from. She had mixed feelings toward the giant mounds of thickened earth, fickle like the snow that could melt with little to sway it. She was content with the colony, but there was always that lingering feeling...that cruel sadness that reminded her of the point in her life when everything was rejected into a pit of everlasting change.

Nothing seemed exactly real; the swablu flew on, not allowing herself the pleasure of gliding until she was far from the flock, and sped onward. She was fairly horrified at what had recently happened. Not only was her dignity spat on and rolled in the mud, but any trace of trust she had with those she thought she knew seemed gone. Her whole life she had lived with them, helped improve it, sought protectors in the older pokémon, and found friends of all ages. It was a pleasant life of happiness, and yet...she was pushed from its embrace like she was never there. Like she never had a chance to make a difference, or to even deserve a place among her kin. She felt as if she had put her whole mind and body into the flock, and it was exceedingly unfair that her banishment was not given a second thought. It was _their _fault for making such a stupid decision...

The thought suddenly occurred to her that she was endangering her sister even further by allowing her to stay with that flock. She wished with all her heart that she agreed to come with her...even if it meant they were both exiled. At least then they would be able to be together and support one another, even under such circumstances. However, that was clearly impossible as they were separated, and Tarla felt enormous regret for what her sister would be put through. It was as if she alone knew. That was what frightened her as well—her flock was charging headfirst into a foolish decision, and nobody but her realised that. They had had no time to properly consider any of it, and were immensely foolish for pretending they knew the effects on the flock it would have. She knew those so called "benefits" were nothing but lies, whatever they supposedly were.

The wind picked up, blasting her face with more force than before. She noticed with surprise that her thoughts had taken her far from her mountain already; she must have been flying for a minimum of an hour. As she realised that she was flying head-on into a blasting current of wind, she gasped suddenly for air, finding it difficult to swallow anything but more snow as she continued. Sometimes a piece would wedge itself into her nostril, and she had to gather the strength to let a dragonbreath surge through her beak, erupting from the only place it could go—her nostrils. However, using the move repeatedly drained her energy, and as she waded on through the falling snow as the shadowy sky above her bled with increasing darkness, she found herself growing progressively exhausted.

It was not a pleasant feeling as she realised she was drifting away from reality, her wings faltering as she plunged downward into an unintentional dive, but quickly righted herself and shook off, the two stray feathers that sprouted from her head wobbling with her. Another spec of snow became lodged in her left nostril, and she coughed, feeling the strange buzz of the dragonbreath excite her throat before being admitted through the holes atop her beak.

'_I need to rest,' _she thought to herself, and began to cast her glance about. The mountains were endless; the fact that she was not a very effective flier in both manoeuvring and speed did not help her cause, but she doubted the hours of mountains stretched below her would end even if she could fly harder, faster and stronger. She already felt as if she were going to collapse, and she didn't even try to think of how she might have felt if she had been required to apply more energy to her movements. It would only have drained her more.

She was forced to shield her eyes with her eyelids as she searched for a spot to land somewhere, and began her descent. The snow was growing denser and increased with purpose. She knew the signs to be those of an oncoming blizzard, and she would not have much time before it would be upon her with relentless mercilessness.

Keeping the thought at the fore of her thoughts, she weaved through the air as if attempting to dodge the falling iciness, and watched as a mountain turned from a spiked lump to a detailed expanse of angled land whose elements grew in size as she neared. She could spot trees dotting stray parts of the mountainside that she previously had been too high up to identify—either that or she had simply been unfocused. She gave credibility to the latter thought as much as she did the first.

She figured a rest in the trees would mostly likely keep her safe, but as she neared, the branches nearly in reach, she reconsidered. Resting in a tree would present a number of problems such as her vulnerability, which would surely attract predators. Either that or she would be sheltered none from the fierce weather which she knew was to come, and may not last. She had been caught in a blizzard once before and barely survived, and vowed never to make the same foolish mistakes again.

She was quick to find an alcove in a looming wall of rock far from the ground, so she knew she would be sheltered from any sort of beast looking to satisfy their hunger or rid intruders from their territory. It was a relief that she could sleep both sheltered from the weather and any predators which may have taken her.

As she perched on the edge of the hollow, peering out over the ground and silently staring into the distance to determine which mountain she had come from, she sighed, spilling onto the solid rock with exhaustion and disbelief. She knew it would take her a while to come to terms with her exile, and most importantly, never seeing her sister again. Or, if she did, she feared the circumstances it might be in.

The worst was obvious to her: she would face her as enemy in a fight against the pokémon she chose to stand with, or she would one day find her dead. She could have tried eventually to escape the flock's grasp once she discovered what exactly she was wedging herself into, what treachery lay with the monsters that the flock thoughtlessly decided to join with, and wound up lost and injured in the process of her escape or the journey to find her older sister.

She found herself clenching her eyes closed and shaking her head, her fluffy wings pasted to the side of her body in a stiff reaction to her painful thoughts. She eyed the ground with sadness she hadn't really felt in a long time. Not since she and her sister's mother was taken from them all too early in a flying accident. They had, from then on, sworn never to part, and to be by one another's side until they were physically incapable. As Tarla surveyed the land before her, unable to find the mountain in the distance from which she hailed, she felt her entire body flop, as if her bones had melted without warning. She would call the situation she was currently facing pretty physically limiting, but she couldn't help but think that there would have been a way she could convince her sister, the only family she had, to join her. As much as she didn't want her exiled from the flock that their family had been with for generations, it was more dangerous to remain with them. She wanted least of anything for her sister's life to be put at risk.

She had always thought the flock independent. Years before when she was but a chick, the flock had been offered an opportunity to join up with a taillow and swellow flock, but due to climatic differences and assorted other factors, her flock declined. It had never accepted an offer to expand with another altaria and swablu flock either, for the sheer purpose of independence, and because it was not at all needed. There was no reason for them to meld, and therefore they did not.

But now...not they not only joined with another group that was not even a flock, but they tarnished all that they had previous stood for. It was as if some spell had been cast by a psychic pokémon to make the elders believe that they were making the right decision. She briefly considered the possibility of this and shook her head in disbelief; she had always respected the elders. They were not easily swayed or tricked, so why was this rash decision so effective?

Releasing a sigh and feeling her limbs lose form again, she turned away from the scenery, as if a promise to separate herself from the flock that betrayed her. None but her sister was blood-related, but they had still been her family. And now not even the one who was blood related was with her any longer.

Her gaze wondered further back into the cave, and she wondered how far back it stretched. She was only able to see shallowly into its depths, only a few metres in, and the rest was a black mist of the unknown. For all she knew, a beartic could have been jammed at the back, calculating the right moment to leap on her and take her life, and then her meat. Nervous, she glanced down the length of her body and tried to convince herself that she looked fairly devoid of meat, and not to be overly tasty. She didn't eat much meat, but she knew she would have a taste for it when she evolved, as altaria often did. She suspected being part dragon-type had something to do with that. Even though she might not have thought herself nutritionally enticing, it was not herself she needed to convince.

She had to take her chances, and settled where she stood. The chill of the growing winds blasted into the cave, and she shook with the cold, wondering to herself how much she would be able to withstand. The mountain she had lived on was not extensively elevated, and the spot she had presently chosen to rest was at a much higher altitude. It wasn't much colder than what she was normally used to, but the many caves and alcoves at her home mountain were prefect protected from the blizzard and general weather. Her flock would usually wander near to the back of their caves, and she knew that remaining where she was at the mouth was going to freeze her wings and meld her beak shut—if she could stay put long enough to allow that to occur. She feared she would freeze to death before that happened.

Once more averting her gaze to the ends of the cave, she hoped that it would suddenly become lighter so that she could see. She was hesitant to use a dragonbreath to light the darkness that dove so deeply into the cave, in case she aggravated a pokémon who had called the particular cave home for a period of time she had no chance of matching.

After a good ten minutes of internal debate with herself, she had come to the conclusion that even if she did disturb a pokémon who would clearly not be happy, she could simply fly back out.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and planted her feet. Contemplation soaked her stance before she finally jerked out of her frozen form and brewed a hot batch of sheltered flames. She felt her throat tumble with the dragonbreath as she inhaled once more and fired, sending a crackling stream through the darkness. She watched as little nooks and crannies in the shapeless walls were revealed, the pebbles scattered along the floor also brightening. She noticed that the cave was not long and rounded off only about ten metres away, but right as she silenced her attack, she noticed something peculiar.

She furrowed her brow feathers and fired again, this time short and sharp, like a huff, and expelled a sphere of the dark matter down the left wall, watching as it shot straight through a passage that was to the left of the rounded off section of the cave. Essentially the cave continued on, rather than stopping at the far wall, to the left. She watched as it dissipated before hitting anything, as a fireball composed of dragonbreath was often not stable enough to keep its composition until it hit the target if it was far from when the ball began.

She curiously began to take tiny steps toward it. Her mind warned her against such actions, and encouraged contentment with the end of the cave, the part with a dipped wall which would cradle her and keep her alert if something did come out of the left (or right, if she faced the entrance) passage. If something happened to fly or climb to the cave's lip before entering the mouth, she would also be prepared. Like her, she assumed any pokémon that could appear would see only endless darkness to begin with, so if escape was necessary, she believed she would have the advantage. Despite struggles against it, curiosity battled with rationality and edged her toward the left passage.

She only took a few steps before she heard movement and wings, and knew instantly that they were not wings of her kind. She didn't dare fire another sphere of dragonbreath as she stood frozen, unable to move, and knew that something was about to burst from the passage and probably swallow her whole. Worse than that, it could tear at her flesh and eventually place her eyeballs and beak in separate piles.

The imagery fluttered about her mind, and before she had a chance to react into a defensive form, the pokémon spilled into sight, illuminated by the light from outside the cave, and Tarla was thrown backward, tumbling as she unintentionally linked the experience with her banishment. She hadn't time to identify the pokémon before she realised the force was going to fling her off the lip of the cave and onto the ground below, and struggled against gravity idea until she dropped from the ledge with a cry of distress.


	24. Chapter Twenty-four: Past and Present

**Chapter****Twenty-four: Past and Present**

Tarla was not exactly expecting such a surprise when she woke, a face staring at her with not enough of a distance between them for comfort to be an inclusive factor. She stirred, leaping upright in a matter of milliseconds, and fluttered her wings about, caught off guard.

She looked around, realising she was on the same mountain as presumably five minutes before, and a figure stood over her, a curious face peering back. It was a cobalt colour, with a large pink nose slapped in the middle. Two eyes looked at her, filled with wonder and a hint of sympathy. She at first wondered what on earth this pokémon had to be sympathetic for until she remembered: she was at the mouth of the cave when something had knocked her down, and she must have dropped, landing on the ground and knocking herself out. Her wings had been too stiff to carry her in any direction in order to save herself, and she was aware of that before going over, and was thankful that nothing drastic happened. She was glad to have been stopped by the ground early into her fall; if it was a steeper drop, the chances of her surviving would have been significantly altered. Staring up at this creature again, after averting her eyes, the swablu analysed their face once more.

"Hi," the pokémon began, in a rather casual and cheery voice. She got the feeling it would have been cheerier had the situation been positive. "Sorry about knocking you off the cliff and all." The pokémon's face grew sheepish as the apology washed over her face.

"Why...did you?" Tarla questioned, not game enough to bring her attitude to the fore.

The pokémon extended her dark wings, skin-like and easy to fold, and then settled. "Sometimes there are threats around these parts, and I need to protect myself."

The swablu, figuring this pokémon was of little threat, waited a moment before rocking herself off her back to stand on her small feet. She wrapped her wings nicely around her body as she looked back to the pokémon. "I'm a swablu," she stated flatly. "I'm, like, a foot tall." In comparison, the opposing creature was more than twice her height.

"I...I know, but after you fired that dragonbreath down the narrow passage, I freaked out and erupted from my nest with an aim to drive you out. If you were an axew or something, then you wouldn't be able to get up here, but if by some chance you did, knocking you off would give you a very hard time trying to get back up again."

"Right..." the flying and normal type responded, finding the story somewhat reasonable but still irritating. She clamped her beak around the base of several of her feathers and slid, sliding the snow off. She tried to shake the rest from her body, but there was still a considerable amount wedged between several of her feathers. "And in the event that I wasn't an 'axew'?"

"Then I apologise and invite you back up to my cave," the pokémon offered, extending a wing upwards, gesturing to the cave a number of metres from the ground.

The swablu's eyes clouded with suspicion as a gust of wind blew her feathers in a single direction, chilling her skin. "You don't know that I'm not a threat."

The pokémon with wings turned back to her, a look of bemusement on her face. She waited a moment, gave a partly condescending chuckle, and said, "Um..." She looked her up and down. "Like you said, you're a foot tall."

A frown slipped onto Tarla's face, and she growled to herself as the cave-dweller crouched for a split second before launching into the air, flapping her wings in quite a different fashion to what Tarla was used to before landing on the cave's ledge and entering.

She needed to consider things. It was a question of whether or not she could trust this other pokémon, as well as it being the other way around. The guest must trust the host as the host must trust the guest. It occurred to her, however, that trust would have to be formed quickly, as the winds did not cease and once again ruffled her many blue feathers. She was nearly blown over by a particularly powerful gale, and decided not to take further chances. The cave would have to suffice.

Fluttering upward, struggling to right herself as she began to make her way to the ledge, she struggled with an extra amount of effort before finding the right moment to plunge into the mouth from the side. Any longer and she was sure she would have been captured by the winds and taken for a joyride consisting of everything but joy.

Once inside, the swablu shook off, beginning to preen her feathers again. She watched as the other pokémon clung to the ceiling nearby, hanging upside down. At first she was shocked, and wondered if such behaviour was usual for somebody of this pokémon's species. As a matter of fact, she was quite unaware of what this pokémon even was.

"I...my name is Tarla," she informed. Usually she would have demanded the other pokemon's name first, but she was in little position to show ungratefulness.

The one hanging from the ceiling gave a pleased grunt of acknowledgement and remained here she was. Her wings encased her body as best they could, acting as a sort of shield from any breezes that could have invaded. Tarla was a little uncomfortable, watching from the corner of her eye as the other pokémon remained still with a content smile. She was silent.

She stopped cleaning herself to frown, eying the pokémon from where she stood. "And...you are...?"

"The name's Kori," the pokémon said simply, angling her head before dropping down. Her claws clung to the cave floor and she rolled her neck to survey the ceiling, her guest's gaze following. "I live in this cave."

"Right...well, I'm a swablu." She was about to reveal where she usually resided, but thought against it, figuring that this 'Kori' would come to know if the time was ever right.

"I know," she responded with a light smile. "I see your kind around here on occasion."

The comment surprised her, for she was unaware that there were more flocks within such a close vicinity to hers. Yet it made sense; it wasn't as if she knew where every flock was, and nor could she know. "I don't see your kind up where I live." She stopped, jammed by her own words. It felt wrong, but she went back to correct herself no louder than a mutter. "Where I...used to live."

"That's because my kind usually reside in caves." She demonstrated by hooking herself to the cave ceiling once again.

"What _are _you?"

"Swoobat," she answered happily, perched perfectly upside-down.

**ooo**

I had decided not to dwell on the fire and dark type's ambiguous words. I was uninterested in figuring him out, and when I did, I had little doubt that his meaning would be nonsense anyway. One can always afford to be spared nonsense. He was not worth the trouble, really. I didn't know why I would have any reason to have to listen to him, or even acknowledge that he was speaking. It sounded harsh, but it was true—he did nothing to deserve my attention.

We had settled down under a tree and amongst a small collection of bushes for the night. I wanted to get a decent two hours of sleep before we set off at dawn again, but already I was extremely tired. We had gone for most of the night, and now it was evidently growing to be too much of a burden. My legs were aching and my eyelids were hardly capable of remaining parted; despite a random trail of thoughts, my brain was evidently becoming dysfunctional. I couldn't register half of what the houndoom was doing as we had walked for a time after I noticed that it was becoming near impossible for me to carry on. It was disappointing, the fact that I couldn't keep walking through the night as I had planned, but I reconsidered, realising that travelling without sleep was less than ideal. Usually I got a measured amount, but the night before we had left for this journey, the hours hadn't been plentiful, and I realised that a mere two hours was not going to go over well when we needed to travel again. On top of that, I was completely unsure how we would only be asleep for two hours, but it was my preference. I really relied on the dawn to wake us, even if that was foolish to any degree. Unbeknownst to the houndoom, I was used to being foolish.

After I had fallen asleep, my dreams swirled in confusing patterns and danced through my mind, showing me separate incidents repeated and alternative ways those incidents could have happened. Ever since I had learned of Izante, I had been subject to frequent dreams about her, or containing her... Waking always gave me a sense of irrevocability, of a strict barrier cutting off any previous links with the past I still may have held onto. I would wake from a pleasant dream of our time together, or from a discovery that everything had been a misunderstanding, and she was, in fact, a friend again.

I wasn't even sure if I _wanted _to be her friend after all this... She had a heavy level of betrayal slapped across her forehead, and I wasn't sure if I could trust her again...despite the trust I unfalteringly had for her prior to this. The entire thing had been one painful realisation: trust should not come as easy as it does. And when it is treated as just another simple feeling or assumption, the fool employing it is only setting herself up for injury, both physical and emotional.

When I awoke, it was to the sound of chirping birds and the feel of a gentle breeze. Well, that and a massive tail in front of my face, the arrow-like tip, for some very bizarre reason, running through my tuft. After my mind finally clicked, I leapt backwards, scrambling as my legs momentarily failed to follow proper instruction. Either that or I simply forgot how to control them for a time. "AHH! What are you _doing_?" I yelped, feelings of violation caused by his unwarranted touch lighting in my head. _'Who strokes their tails through other's fur?!'_

With a smug snort of amusement, he returned his tail tip to his ankles. He began to stalk off, his head lazily low and his body reasonably level. "Up. Come on. We have ground to cover." As he paced away, his shoulders constantly forming rises on his upper back, and then disappeared, rotating with the other. His tail waved nonchalantly from left to right.

I emitted another growl; quite frankly, I was getting sick of having to feel such constant negativity flowing through my veins. Each time he even _spoke _I found myself frowning, annoyed, and figured that the sole reason was that he was an irritating pokémon. Not only was he haughty and condescending, but he also liked to undermine me as a pure joke, dancing around things instead of answering me directly. I found it difficult to understand how anybody would be able to tolerate him, let alone be fond of him.

As I stood, my legs shook, and I was momentarily surprised. I blinked out the heavy feeling in my eyes, closing them for a moment and feeling some brief sense of peace before I heard a grunt from ahead. Looking his way, I snarled as I once again noticed his bemused look. It was one of status: he clearly believed himself above me, and I was not going to tolerate that.

"WHY are you so damn cocky?" I snapped, vaguely startled as I found I had to work to maintain my balance and consciously use the strength of my legs to support my weight. He was paused, so I took advantage of the delay and caught up to him.

"Why are you so damn angry?" was his response, and to it I interlocked my jaws, narrowing my eyes.

"Because _you _are the most frustrating pokémon I've ever had to deal with." I would have thought such an answer was plainly obvious, but I suppose that those who annoy often don't realise...otherwise they might not be so annoying.

"Why?" he asked with playful curiosity. "I'm helping you, aren't I?"

"_No_," I hissed disdainfully, and he wasn't. In no way had he provided one solution to a problem we encountered.

He pushed out a sigh and I could see, from the corner of my eye (as I refused to face him) the nod of his head and an accepting smile of a pokémon only just figuring something out and having the gall to admit it. At least, that's what I thought he was doing. Until he began shaking his head. Now THAT was a sure sign of condescension. Apparently there was some crucial component of this equation I was missing. According to him, ignorance or pure, innocent lack of information was amusing. Not that I expected any more dignity from a pokémon like him.

The hours wore on, and we were finally coming into a section of the forest I was finding that I quite enjoyed; it was rather pretty. The trees seemed to bend in toward me as I passed at a leisurely pace, my tiredness catching up with me, while the houndoom padded on fairly steadier than I up ahead. He was reasonably fast, but didn't rush, as he walked faster than me. I could tell he was keeping a pace of purpose; he didn't want to move _too _much faster than me, and he was probably also not keen to allow me to catch up. I got the impression that males like him preferred to be in the lead, to have the females strung along behind them, and the notion made me sick. I couldn't imagine following somebody my whole life, let alone some controlling _male_. It wasn't my style, and I intended to let him know.

"You know, I really_ don't _enjoy having you around," I grunted toxically, and he continued in front of me, his shoulders again sharing the spotlight as one protruded and then dipped down, allowing the other to create a lump of bone on his upper back.

"I don't enjoy your bullying, Flair," he muttered, angling his snout toward me.

"It's not bullying," I scoffed. "It's called the _truth_. You annoy me, so I tell you. Get how it works?"

"I can't help it if you're angry all the time," he shrugged. His tone, feigning carelessness, irritated me, _surprisingly._

"I-I'm not a—" I cut myself off as my mind paused to think. With a shocking realisation, I realised that he was right. My tempter was fierce, but usually I could control it. He was barely doing a thing to annoy me, and yet I...was acting as if he did something unforgivable. I mean, sure, he _was _annoying, but it wasn't anything to really get my fire in a helix about. Even so, I was not about to admit something like that to him... If he wanted me to play nice, he needed to put in some sort of effort as well. I cleared my throat. "I'm angry because—"

"Of Izante?"

Suddenly my mind emptied. My eyes grew and my legs seized up, and I felt myself begin to shake. My eyes were fixed on him as they continued to remain open, the sting of not blinking prodding at my eyes like small pine needles. My mouth parted a fraction, and I felt my ears remain completely erect upon my skull. It was if the entire forest silenced to listen.

"H...how..." My lip trembled, jerking as I made an effort to control it. My toes felt cold. "D-do you...know.." I could hardly finish my sentence as he stopped up ahead, turning with his legs planted and his face stern. There was still room for expression and looseness, but for the most part it was solid.

"...Flair, come on. We have to keep mov—"

"HOW do you _know_?" I hissed, seriousness seeping into my words. I felt as if I was in a staring contest with him. He was relatively calm, but I couldn't tell if he regretted revealing such information. The details were obviously still hidden, but I was keen to pry them from his jaws. "Tell me..._how_?" I pressed, bringing a paw forward as my voice dropped. My mind whizzed with several thoughts, and once more I felt another part of me begin to tremble.

The houndoom narrowed his eyes, exhaling a little before taking a seat. The sight of him resting came as a surprise to me; I was uncomfortable with the fact that he had stopped. I was standing still, and yet that did not seem to register as something of a bother.

When nothing spilled from his mouth, my throat began to rumble with a warning. Still the houndoom stared at me, not intent on commenting. I felt my breathing hasten as I drilled my pointed gaze into his skull, but the effect seemed to have no hold on him. He just sat, heedless of my angered demeanour growing with intensity by the second, and stared.

The trembling, although still happening, became much less of an issue as my leg muscles tensed and I lunged forward with a roar, a stream of fire licking my teeth and ripping from my maw. He looked momentarily shocked before bringing up a front paw to shield his face. I continued the stream while leaping until I crashed into him and we tumbled again onto the forest floor, pricked with sticks and pointed stones once more.

We rolled for a short time before he stopped and I flopped off beside him, leaping to my paws as I stared back at him, agitated and extremely wary. If he knew such private information about me, then what in the world had he been doing? Spying on me? It occurred to me that he could have been acquaintances with Izante.

"Do you KNOW her?" In my rage, it took me a moment to realise that even if he did know her, there was little chance he could have found out...unless the fearow she had climbed onto on the ship had taken her to land to meet the houndoom at an organised specific location. Although somewhat of a stretch, it was possible. "Are you trying to kill me? Is _that_ it? Revenge for what I did to all those pokémon on the ship? How I _spoiled _the precious Team Rocket's plan to ravage all their prisoners and turn them into monsters like Sed?!" I glowered at him as he slowly worked his paws to the ground and lifted himself. "I _saved _them! And...and _Izante _was the one trying to make them her captives. Slaves of those humans! I don't regret a single thing that I did on that ship. _Nothing_," I hissed. "So gimme your _best _shot. Then we'll see which one of us is superior!"

Lowering my top half, back legs and rump still in the air, I felt my forelegs press against the soil, the fur presumably collecting dirt and leaves. My mane felt as if it was thickening, and I braced myself for any oncoming attack. At the same time, I boiled inside. I boiled with all that was happening: this houndoom's presence, the mention of Izante, his hidden knowledge—even the fact that Izante herself was a traitorous coward, and now it was discovered that this houndoom could have been as well.

"I can't...take...any more betrayals."

My jaw tightened, nose twitching as I felt my eyes buzz and a glaze of salt liquid became existent over my eyeballs. I shook more intensely, feeling the rising temperature in my belly. I could nearly taste the flames as I held it down, summoning a different power easiest to harness when my emotions were at their peak; I was utterly infuriated, upset and confused as I glared, forcing the horrible thoughts to the front of my mind. I could not ignore this. It had to be dealt with, and I didn't want to think about consequences. My assault would provide an outcome, that of which I was intentionally not focusing on.

The built up-energy suddenly burst forth as I shot toward him, head lowered as I calculated my course. He was on two feet and easily side-stepped the attack, and I growled at myself for launching it much too far away. Pivoting, I came back around and tried again, but again he moved out of reach. I came to a halt, my teeth exposed as I felt the flames licking my lips through the gaps in my jaws, tinges of black, blue and purple sparking through at the same time. My rage was certainly at its most prevalent, and with hostile eyes, I charged forward, tearing through the air with jaws wide-set. I was sure I had successfully torn particles of the air as I came upon him, my mouth suddenly exploding with a burst of shadowy flames. It appeared in an enormous sphere, one at least twice the size of my head, followed by a short line of fire, the after-effect of my effort to call forth the flames.

The houndoom was evidently expecting some sort of physical attack, and therefore his avoidance of my lunge did him no good, my head having been tilted in his direction when the dark, fiery matter spilled from my mouth. It slammed into him with great force, the shadow ball element having been extremely effective in my current state, and he seemed to tense up involuntarily, blown onto his back legs before he toppled backwards. My breathing was rapid as I looked on from a short distance away, and before he even touched the ground, I was racing toward him once more. I prepared a toxic attack, spitting a somewhat weak version over his momentarily vulnerable body, and stopped, my eyes flashing before I dove at him, aiming for his neck as vicious snarls rippled from my throat. I snapped at his fur before he fired a weak shadow ball of his own, blowing me off his chest and he, to my great annoyance and slight surprise, rolled to the side and back onto his paws.

"Dusty, stop it!" he yelled, and I nearly faltered at the mention of my name, and the fact that he knew that too. He had tried to address me properly, as opposed to with his petty nickname, which inexplicably enraged me even further.

I felt myself vibrating with increasing anger as I felt my chest pump air into my lungs, the extreme rapidity surprising even me. I briefly thought that it was partly because of the physical exertion, but also knew it had a lot to do with my anger. The entire battle was fuelled by this same feeling, which I was not about to think deeply about, for fear of it ceasing if I noticed a flaw.

I growled again as I galloped his way, and I saw a flash of an urgent frown as he jumped out the way, not skilful enough to avoid the flamethrower I expelled by simply changing the position of my head. He was engulfed by the brief flames before he glared at me again, but I was glad he did. He had to get involved in this, otherwise I wouldn't feel as justified and I would win without a proper contest. However, I wasn't sure if that thought even bothered me—I was going to win regardless, and if it meant I had to play dirty, I had no objection.

"No! Tell me!" I demanded, temporarily paused. My paws were tense as they bored into the ground, and I watched as the houndoom, cringing, rose to a stand again. I reminded myself not to be surprised when he did so, as my attacks were of fire, the same as him, so expecting them to do a large amount of damage was unrealistic. He didn't respond, and I felt my throat heat up with a new breath of smoke. "If you don't tell me, I won't stop."

He stared at me, bewilderment and something else I didn't want to consider in my state of mind on his face, and did nothing besides that. He just...watched. In response to this, my jaws clenching as tightly as they could be squeezed, I bounded forward, kicking up sprayed sand as I skidded, watching as it leapt into his eyes and occupied some of his mouth, separating his jaws in a shriek.

His eyes remained bound for just enough time for me to come upon him, slamming into him and tossing him back, my maw clamping somewhere around his collar bone. At this the houndoom reacted surprisingly quickly, and I felt the sting of fire as it washed over my body. But I was used to it, as he should have known, and the attack did not cause me much of a hindrance. When he bit down on my neck fur, however, cutting through my mane and reaching my neck to weakly catch it in his mouth, I growled, ripping away from him and rejecting his poor attempt to attack me.

As I came away, I felt a tooth tear my flesh, and although it was small, it began bleeding. The pain was hardly anything to take notice of; as I stared back at this houndoom, I could tell he was far worse off than I.

"Flair...stop," he pleaded, but I was not going to listen. He needed to be taught a lesson.

"Not unless you _tell me_," I yelped, enraged. My eyes bulged and my mouth accompanied a harsher frown upon my jaws. He didn't look at me as he seemed to contemplate, and he sighed a rough sigh. "I won't stop, houndoom, until you—"

"I have an inside 'mon." The words came from his mouth in a sigh, as a shamed confession would, but I was failing to understand how that was something to link with shame. I wondered for a moment what he meant; did he have a personal spy who was a part of Team Rocket? "In the colony," he clarified, and suddenly the picture began to make sense.

My mind turned to the past, replaying the reel that showed me of when I completed the task of telling the colony about Izante, and about my experiences on the ship. _'That would make sense...but why would he take that long to tell me something so simple?'_ A snarl worked its way onto my face as I hissed, "Why was _that _so secret?"

"You wouldn't understand," he proclaimed, staring without a hint of excitement. His face was blank and empty, as if I had done something to greatly offend him.

As I spat his fur from my tongue and breathed out the dust that had accumulated in my nostrils over the course of the fight, I couldn't imagine what it was that I had done. However, I thought it best not to dwell on such things, and my eyes wondered back to him, our chests heaving.

We both stood, breathing hard, as our eyes sparked with the unspoken rivalry we had somehow created in that moment. It lasted several seconds, and in that time neither of us blinked. I turned away as my eyelids came down, and when I opened them again, my glance was cast somewhere into the depths of the forest. I noticed that, up ahead, the vegetation broke off and continued in a particular pattern, with trees less frequent but still enormously abundant, and a canopy woven of protective leaves and intertwining branches. Without the opportunity to focus more on it than I needed to at that point, I returned my glare, the impact lessening with each passing moment as his did the same.

The seconds continued to pass, becoming increasingly casual as we broke the line of sight and mine dropped, scanning the dirt. When another few moments provided something of little worth, I nodded inwardly, accepting that I probably wasn't going to get any more information out of him. At that point, as I noticed my breathing decreasing and my neck beginning to pulse with the small wound, I turned away from him, beginning to advance in the direction we should have been heading, which was to my left and his right. I began to pad off, head lowered as a result from the exerted effort and the mood I found myself in, my paws each narrowly escaping a scrape against the ground as they swayed low. My tail was little to be concerned about; in its halved state, it could not have reached the ground unless I sat. The thought was patronising and angering, and once again I found myself wondering how it came to be halved.

The question gripped me tighter than I would have realised, and I began to scan the events of the hunt Shard, Zhol and I had been on. Surely, I had figured, it was the scyther who had delivered the severing slice, but as I flipped through the many moments, I realised that there were hardly times that he and I were in each other's company. It seemed a little senseless to blame him when he could have had no part in it, but I didn't entirely close off the possibility. Instead I tried to figure out at which point I had felt a portion lighter than any time before that. I was unable to deduce such a thing, given how I was too distracted by those sandslash and... _'Hang on...it was around then that I noticed it was a half.' _I thought to the events before the battle with the ground types, remembering the rockfall that had occurred shortly after I so skilfully caught that buneary.

_I was in a wicked panic as I whipped around and absorbed the sight of my trapped tail. I squealed with desperation, swiping at the ground as if it would lift the rock and make it roll off the edge, but to my horror the reality of the situation dawned on me. _

_I was stuck._

'_Okay,'_ I told myself, _'that's a start...'_ I hardly needed to strain as I freshly recalled that it had been Zhol that set me free as her strong claws had descended onto the rock that threatened my tail's wellbeing.

"_You saved my life!" She whirled around and barely skimmed my face before zipping to my side and hesitated before slicing through the boulder and releasing my tail. I was overwhelmed and strongly grateful, and I wanted to find Zhol all the prey in the world to drop at her feet and watch her indulge in. _

'_That's right. She broke...' _At that point, a frown settled deeper into my brow. I blinked a number of times, replaying the scene in my head several times. _'Wait...' _

_She whirled around and barely skimmed my face before zipping to my side and hesitated before slicing through the boulder and releasing my tail._

'_She hesitated,' _I reiterated to myself, and as realisation flooded into my mind, it occurred to me that I had not heard a boulder shattering. In the midst of the smashes of other boulders and rumbles and yells, it was hard to tell, but I had not heard her claws shatter rock. In fact...it seemed utterly ridiculous, looking back, that she was able to "slice" through a rock. Even a sneasel's claws would need to be trained for such exercises before the feat would be possible, and something told me that hers were not. My dance of violence with the ground types was shortly after, and that was when it came to my attention that I had merely half a tail. Planting my feet, I whirled around and began to stalk back the way I came, determined to conclude this mystery.

The houndoom strode toward me a few metres to my left and stopped, watching me pass as I failed to meet his curious gaze. "Party's this way," he informed.

"I'm aware," I uttered, jabbing the words through his skin as I proceeded. A number of paces on, I heard him raise his voice, as we had been separated by a few metres.

"Then why are you going _that _way?"

"I have to confirm something," I explained briefly, hissing as I kept walking. I knew that if I returned to the site we had fought those wild pokémon at, I could potentially find the other half of my tail still pinned beneath that rock. That would confirm everything. The thought of insignificance and pettiness crossed my mind, only to be dismissed without consideration.

I heard the gallop of the fire and dark type behind me as he caught up, to my annoyance, and demanded, "What are you doing?"

I shoved him aside with a forceful timed lean and padded off. "I have to see something."

"Have to see what?"

The frustration itched at my nerves. "I have to know what happened to my _tail_," I spat, knowing he would not understand.

"...Your tail?" he restated in a disapproving form of confusion. "Flair, you shouldn't be doing that _now_."

I refused to meet his eyes as he tried to catch them. "I'm not taking advice from an idiot."

"Nobody's asking you to take your own advice," he responded, hardly intending the comment as a sarcastic one.

A growl rumbling in my throat, I spun around with planted paws and glared. "No, you thick-headed _dolt_; _you're _the idiot."

I could tell he was marginally smug after manipulating me to face him. I continued on and he shuffled after me. "What do you hope for that to achieve?" I didn't respond as I let him prattle on. "You do know that...you've had half a tail for a while now. It was only a half when I found you in that "secret spot" your sneasel friend often likes to tuck herself away into."

At his mention of Zhol, I growled again. Evidently it bothered me that he was aware who my friends were. I decided not to question him as I remembered his "contact" in the colony.

"Come on," he began, stepping in front of me, forcing my legs to stop. He stared at me for a few moments. "What's that gonna do? You have an Usster party to catch up with. Y' know, a duty?"

I analysed his eyes for a few moments before brushing past him, hearing a sigh pass through his lips. "Go home, Idiot."

"You're wasting time."

I paused, staring at the dirt in my head's shadow. I could feel my half-tail brushing against my back legs as I stood, realising that he was right. I was wasting time. Time was what ended my friendship with Izante and revealed her identity. Had it not been for time, things could have stayed the same. I could name several times when I had wasted time I could have otherwise cherished with her, or my master. She was always in the back of my mind; occasionally I would hear her voice and spin around, ready to leap into her arms again. But every time I completed the turn, I saw nothing but a bush or a boulder. Sometimes it was another pokémon who had called my name.

At those points was when I regretted my failure to use time most effectively—to spend it with her, my dear, beloved human, and thank the great Arceus for blessing me with her company every day. But that time was gone. That _time _had been cut short, and I had to revalidate the reason I looking for her: on top of the fact that I had no idea where I was to look, my destructive efforts on the ship of a powerful criminal organisation evidently earned me a bounty. I had known that since Zhol offered me a spot in her colony—that if I was to take my chances and look for Master, I would only be endangering her if we ever met up. I wasn't willing to take that risk.

Heaving a sigh, I thought about the purpose of that party's mission. Finding this abandoned hideout would give us the chance to find some kind of clue as to what the "Rokont Organisation" was about, perhaps, and lead us to some kind of importance. We had to find out why those three pokémon, Sed and Tooloo being two of them, were so keen on attacking me. I had assumed that it had something to do with this assumed bounty I had acquired after the incident on the Rockets' ship. And perhaps we would figure out who exactly wanted all those pokémon captured, and for what reason. It certainly didn't happen every day, although I did recall many strong and some rare pokémon, so perhaps it was a type of sweep: a trap to collect as many pokémon as they could and find use for some of them. I didn't want to know what the intended fates for the rejects were.

I thought about my tail, and how insignificant finding its missing half to conclude something that didn't even matter was. It suddenly seemed ridiculous that I cared so much about a hunk of fur when countless pokémon were in endless potential danger, and when I had a chance of helping eradicate that threat. Flashing to the thought of Izante and my master once more, I stared at my toes. I didn't want to waste time anymore.

With a rumbling throat, I pulled myself around, mapping the road ahead as I returned to the path that felt right above my other choice. I could feel the houndoom's smile shining through my back as I padded away, and I tried my hardest to ignore it. Whatever words spewed from his mouth, whatever actions radiated from his body—they were not to be taken into account. I refused to believe his advice or actions were of any sort of worth.

He caught up to me in no more than four bounds, and we pressed on through the forest, aware for anything we needed to be on the lookout for. Several places on my body hurt, including the sections that were damaged while on the hunting trip the other day, but truth be told...I was glad to have stopped fighting. Battling was a sport I thoroughly enjoyed, but as I kept my head low, somewhat ashamed of my recent behaviour yet still upholding opinion that I was fairly justified, I realised that I had probably made a mistake that, although cost us little, could have cost us more.

**ooo**

After having left the cave the swoobat had so generously offered for her to take refuge in until the snowstorm came to a standstill, which ended up being in the morning, Tarla was considerably saddened. The swoobat was the only friend she had known since the colony's banishment. Realistically she had only met the flying and psychic type a fraction over an hour after she had been banished, but the isolation that consumed her the moment she dropped from that cliff and flapped her wings furiously as the elder dropped down after her was a sort of proclamation that she was alone. Perhaps for a long time, and maybe for the entirety of what remained of her life.

After being expelled from her home, she felt as if she didn't deserve to live anywhere else. She had already stained the grounds she had previously lived, so why did she deserve another chance with a separate flock? She knew she could certainly never live with another altaria flock—that much was definite. Yet she still longed for the touch of a caring family, or the closest she would be able to near.

Kori had been both helpful and kind, and the fact that another had shared their home with Tarla gave her an inch more hope. The fact that she was an outcast, as revealed sometime into her stay, had not bothered her new friend at all. If the swablu was entitled to address her as such. She wasn't sure if she was just in assuming that they shared a friendship, but tried not to ruin the thought with unpleasant questions.

She was sad to leave, but she felt a calling from another direction, on another path. She couldn't have stayed anyway; that was Kori's mountain, and it would feel wrong to impede.

"But I'm alone anyway," she had begged, her wings sagging too much to allow her to remain airborne. Most of the time Tarla had spent with her, she had been on the ground, but had also been suspended with utmost glee; she obviously enjoyed the feeling and cherished her ability as an aerial pokémon.

"I can't stay here," Tarla had reiterated, and felt the drop of her own wings as she realised there was no way she could let herself stay. "It's not just that, it's..." She had looked up, the pair of flying types perched right before the edge of the cliff, and lay her eyes in the distance. "I'm...too close to my flock. I need to get away from here. I don't want to live here any longer."

The swoobat had looked at her with eyes of deepening depression, and one glance turned Tarla's stomach. She was simultaneously regretful for turning down the offer, but her need for relocation was far greater. She didn't reveal to the swoobat that she valued her too much, even after only a short time, to see her at risk; if the flock were to find out that she was being sheltered not two hours' distance from their living grounds, they were entitled to attack. If somebody were to recognise her, she would be in danger of an assault, and anyone with her would probably not escape their notice.

"I'm sorry...I have to go," the swablu had insisted, hardly able to look her friend in the face. The swoobat, as Tarla had realised, did not understand her want to get away. She didn't seem to know what it was like to have been banished, and because of that, she didn't think it made sense that Tarla would escape all reminders of her past in order to move on. It frightened the swablu herself, and if she felt she could stay, that there wasn't that grief attached to the great mountains and their high altitudes, she would have taken Kori's offer at first suggestion. She felt somehow selfish for rejecting her offer, especially considering the psychic type was eager to have her friend remain, as she was keen to remain with her.

As her wings broke through the weak streams of wind, the swablu's mind wandered back to the recent two hours she had spent contemplating this. Her many swirling thoughts told her differing things—some to stay and some convincing her that she had made the right choice. However, she wasn't entirely sure as she powered on, reluctant to believe that she had no choice in the matter. She could have stayed. She could have remained with this new friend, and an amazing friendship could have blossomed. But she again was not sure... What if she had stayed, only to come to realise that the pokémon was not suitable to live with? She may have eaten completely different things and made her uncomfortable. Perhaps they had separate resting habits, and would disturb the other or not even be in the cave at the same times. Or perhaps she could have gotten caught in a blizzard on her way back to the cave sometime, unable to free herself from the wind's cruel grasp.

'_This is ridiculous,' _she told herself bitterly, closing her eyes as a gust of wind blew freezing air into her face. _'I've only known her for a single night.' _The straining effort her mind went to did not fit the friendship they held. She thought it could have been that she was grateful for the hospitality; after all, without Kori she would have frozen in the cold or been eaten by whatever else could have lived in that cave had it not been home to her.

Attempting to clear her mind of all thought relating to the issue, she continued on after having to decrease the distance she had wedged between her and the ground. The frigid air stung her body and she found it difficult to move her wings as frequently as she needed. For yet another half hour she ploughed on, dodging leaves and branches of trees welcoming her position change.

She came close to plunging into the ground in a number of occasions, but each time managed to right herself to avoid the collision. For a time she flew aimlessly, regretting her decision to part with Kori and her home. She wasn't _sure _what the right thing to do was, honestly. She did the thing she thought resembled right the most, and even if that was difficult, it was all she could do.

She hardly saw any pokémon at all. There were few scattering the mountain she had lived at; mostly ice types dwelled there, and very occasionally she would see other flying types soar past. She recalled a few times that she had spotted one, felt excitement brew in her mind, and had taken off to meet with them. Often they were not in the mood for conversation, as they were either lost or agitated by the frigid air. Tarla could never quite understand how others could not stand the cold, as she was so used to it. She had never seen a desert, but from what she had heard of it, it seemed completely the opposite of snowy mountains. She could not imagine living there. She wondered if any pokémon could.

The swablu made her way wearily on, resting for a few hours in a snow-laden tree before fluttering away to resume her search for permanent residency. She was rather devoid of intention, and she knew that as she worked her wings without the need to register the strokes; flying came naturally and therefore she was able to focus the thoughts in her mind on something else. That channel always led her mind to a certain single thought: she did not know where she was headed. She had no idea how she was going to survive, either, after living her entire life with a flock and having others to rely on. But she had been exiled from that flock. She had become a loner, an outcast.

She had no home.

Embracing the thought with little more than a fleck of acknowledgement, she squeezed out a few tears; they worked their way off her face in response to the wind's demands and some of them soaking into her wings.

Avoiding a russet trunk suddenly upon her after she emerged from a tree sprouting many leaves, she gave a cheep of surprise, pulling up to slant herself away. When she realised she would have to soar through the spiny bare branches, she bound her eyes, encountering surprise each time one of the sticks scratched her flesh. None dealt recognisable damage, thankfully, and as she was freed from the tangled limbs, she felt several agitations about her body, but nothing that caused her to bleed or scar.

"Stuff this," she grumbled, powering her wings to lift herself further up. "I'm taking to higher skies."

It wasn't long until she desired another rest, partly because she was the tiniest bit paranoid that the sticks had cut her in places that were numbed by the cold, and therefore unrecognisable unless inspected closely. She could see that the snowy regions began to meld with regular land on her left; she had been able to see this for hours now, but had purposely stuck to the mountains. Although she did not exactly plan to stay within their masses, she was hesitant to part with them. She felt that separating herself from all she had ever known was a symbol of some finality to end this whole situation—she would be cursed with the burden of exile, forever to live with the shame she brought her flock in order for the banishment to take place.

Veering off to the right, or south as she knew, away from the land and toward the ocean that stretched to one side of the vast strip of mountains, she hardly noticed as a metallic ring filled the air. The screeching of steel caught her attention after a few moments of consideration. She recognised the consistent beats as wing movements, and blinked in succession.

A forceful current of wind picked her up, tumbling her aside and rendering her wings completely useless in the spiral of its force. She struggled to maintain any sort of balance until a number of frightening seconds after, and once upright, she turned to the source of the attack. A great steel bird – at least, she thought that's what it must have been – hovered but a few metres away, its eyes fierce and beak nipping at the air.

"Stop! I didn't do anything!" Tarla protested as the pokémon sped toward her, faster than any speed she was capable of matching.

The bird pokémon only screeched in return, driving a wing directly into her cheek and causing her to falter. The blow was surprisingly painful, and the full extent of the pain alerted her as she felt it pulse a few moments after being clobbered.

"I said...stop!" she cried, breathing unevenly to summon a burning collection of flames in her small body. They erupted from her beak, consuming the metal creature. It made no noise as it remained, cringing while still able to effortlessly flap its wings.

Tarla nearly celebrated at the attack's success before the dragonbreath subsided, fading into nothing, and creature before her revealed its eyes as if it had suffered no type of injury. It displayed only demeaning contempt as it glared back at her, and suddenly she knew she was about to be punished.

**ooo**

"Come on, Tarla!"

From an unrestful sleep the altaria stirred, the world around her fuzzy as she shook her head, frowning to gaze over her branch and spot a small collection of pokémon. The krinar, Etire, was waving his arm, using the other hand to cup beside his mouth for projection. Rentana paused to wait while Derino powered heedlessly along.

She grumbled a response and proceeded to stretch. As her neck curled, she remembered the permanent 'gift' of a scar granted by that skarmory. She had never discovered what that creature's excuse was for its vicious attack, but frankly she no longer cared. All she knew was that she was thankful it happened.


	25. Chapter Twenty-five: Unearthed

**Chapter Twenty-five: Unearthed**

Idiot had told me that the forest's name had apparently changed when we had suddenly encountered a change in the style. The morning had taken us into the part I had seen from a distance and to its reaches, where the trees were patterned differently, in an interesting and pleasant arrangement, and I found it quite peaceful to walk through. We were nearing the end, however, and the style would soon change. My thoughts didn't remain on the idea for long though; as I clearly knew, it seemed that most good things were not built to last.

I had resisted the urge to speak with the houndoom at all times since our fight, and it seemed avoidance was becoming a large issue between us. He clearly had no problem with communication between us, but I was simply reluctant to open my mouth at him, unless in a growl or a string of muttered insults he usually didn't hear.

Regardless, we weren't exactly friends, and that made it considerably painful to travel with him. I really would have liked to journey with somebody who I actually liked, and it was unfair that I apparently had no choice but to be stuck with _him. _

"Look." I turned to him at last, ceasing my walking. He looked up in response, hardly an implication of mischief engraved in his face. "I don't like having you around. We've established that. It just...might be nice if we could get along."

He cocked the fur of his eyebrow, and that gesture alone, a smug expression to follow, made me clench my jaw in annoyance. "That could be instantly possible." At the statement I gave a tiny frown of curiosity and then nodded to myself, glad we were in agreement. "If you _tried _to be nice, maybe."

I threw him a glare. "Maybe I could be if I found it possible to_ like_ you."

"What's not to like?" he asked, placing himself behind me and sitting on his haunches, spine straight. He reached a foreleg out a little ways and modelled his other front leg in a similar fashion, holding still. I bit my bottom lip, trying to conceal the laughter that would have bubbled from my mouth had it not been that infernal houndoom displaying such ridiculousness. It was obviously intended; his face was a permanent neutral expression with a hint of mock seriousness.

I pretended to be unfazed and flicked my head with clear disregard, moving my legs again as I walked away. "That's right," I said as I passed him, "beg for my approval."

"Begging?" I heard him ask, and to the surprised comment, I allowed my lips to bend up into a sly smile. "This isn't begging." The notion of his pride becoming wounded was of utmost amusement, as was his reaction to my meaningless remark. I heard the soft thud of his paws touch the ground, accompanied by the sound of dried leaves separating. He paused before bounding toward me and stopping by my side. "Do you seriously think that was begging? Because it wasn't," he added, as if keen for clarification. I didn't respond at this, however, and merely kept walking, internally smug as I tried not to let it show on the outside. "_This _is begging." To my surprise, the dark and fire type snaked from my left and rolled out in front of me, curling his paws in and poking out his bottom lip while eying me with a sadness that was difficult to take seriously.

I jerked with the laughter I forced down, reluctant to embrace it while he looked. As amusing as I found the gesture, and after realising he hadn't taken my remark to heart at all, instead deciding to play on it, I knew that making him believe it was funny would only encourage him—and that was not what I needed.

I walked around him, padding on as I heard him shuffle and reapproach. "Come on, Flair. I know you thought that was funny. You looked like you were trying to keep fifty bees locked inside your mouth; let 'em out. Have a bit of fun."

I inhaled deeply, quelling any remaining laughter, and turned to him. "You think I should have a bit of fun, do you?"

The houndoom gave a shrug-like dip of the head in agreement "I think you need to loosen up a bit, yeah. You're tense. You look like you couldn't enjoy yourself even if you were confined to an empty theme park with fully operational rides."

I turned to him curiously, surprised he knew what such a thing was. For a wild pokémon living in the absence of a trainer, I would have thought such knowledge was not available. However, I avoided touching on the subject simply because I wasn't curious enough. "Being given an entire theme park, unless it brought back my trainer, would be useless to me." I reasoned after the statement, adding, "Well, I'd have my fun first, and _then _I'd deem it useless. I mean, I'd have to employ human or able-bodied pokémon to do repairs, to run the ticket booth, operate the rides –" I paused to throw a glare of obviousness his way "– they don't work on their own. To clean up the vomit, maintenance... That's too much work for one flareon."

"Well, don't look to me for upkeep. I'd do my own and that's it," he explained heartily.

"Have no fear," I clarified plainly, raising my brow at him, "I wouldn't want you on my theme park staff unless you were the only other pokémon alive."

"So you..._would _want me?" he inquired, clearly trying to slip thought the loophole in my idea.

"Actually," I began after considering, "no. I mean, what's the point in _having _a theme park all to yourself if you're the only one there? It would be meaningless to run it 'cause there'd be nobody there to run it _for_."

"Well, there are still _two _left," corrected the dual type, and I shrugged, shaking my head.

"It's too much effort to manage for just a single customer, though." I stepped on a rock, momentarily elevating myself before stepping off it.

"You'd be allowed to go on it as well." He flashed me a grin.

I glanced to him with a scoff and a brow pressing down on my eyes accompanied by a knowing smile. "_I _am the customer. You're just a worker."

He chuckled at the comment, bopping his head side to side in recognition of defeat. "I don't deter from the point—you don't let yourself have enough fun."

"I have _plenty _of fun. Fun is easy to have." I felt myself growing a little impatient at this point, and I shrugged my shoulders, removing my eyes from his face to instead search the memories lingering in my mind. "Like when..." I continue to shake my head in little movements, relatively blank. "Like, um..."

"When I had to save you from those enraged sandslash?" he questioned, his overbearing annoyingness returning.

I pinched his eyes with a glare. "_Yeah, _I'd forgotten how much fun _that _was," I responded with evident sarcasm, adopting a lowered condescending tone conveying striking obviousness. "Like... Well, I..."

"Maybe when you almost fell into that raging river. Before I saved you, of course. It was a long drop."

"Oh, shut up," I growled, still unable to detect a moment over the past few weeks, the separation with my trainer. The notation sort of surprised me. Sure, it was true that I had been in some bleak situations, but surely there had been _some _moments of enjoyment. "Well, I...guess I had more fun with Master than anything..."

"You had a trainer?" he asked, nearly as if it was a statement and not a query.

Silence ran cold between us, and it was a while before I could look at him. "I did...do..." Before fumbling and tripping over my sentence, I stopped to take a moment to think. "I have a human, yes, and will return to her after...things."

"Things?" he pressed, keeping his distance.

"YES, things."

"How can you return to someone after 'things'?" he wondered, volume low as he presumably tried to solve such a 'riddle.'

"If you had a brain, you could use it to figure it out." I gave an agitated huff. "You should consider getting one. I'm sure you can find a contractor around here somewhere," I sneered. "Or around some human laboratory. I would caution you not to go there if I cared, but, oh, I don't." I stopped, dark eyes meeting his. He looked surprised at the harsh remark, and I snorted before continuing. "Why are you still here?"

"You keep asking me, and I'll keep giving you the same answer," he shrugged, pacing beside me. "I'm bored. You're alone and vulnerable."

"_Vulnerable_?" I questioned, a little bit offended. Vulnerability had never been something I was overly prone to. I was rather tough on the outside, and was fine with protecting myself. It was not a challenge, provided my opponent wasn't four times my size and doused in water or some kind of thick armour. As I glanced around, moving my eyes without my head, I came to the conclusion that pokémon fitting that description were not accustomed to calling these sorts of woods their home. "I don't think that's your reason."

"Well, for one, I have knowledge of this area. It's vaguely mapped out in my mind, unlike you, a pokémon not even from _around _these parts."

"Tell me," I began, flicking to him as we continued to walk, "what exactly _were_ you doing at Boon's colony? What _possessed you _to make Zhol and I have to _stay_ there?" I felt like rolling my eyes at the memory of that ridiculous quarrel between two colonies which was easily solved with some brainpower on my sneasel friend's part.

"I come and go," he replied, but gave nothing more after that. I decided not to press; any chance to have him silent was one I planned to take.

The walk continued for a time until we ascended a rise that, at its top, overlooked a region becoming snowier as it stretched into the distance. With a sudden jolt, I noticed that we were close to the mountain range. The lands before the base of the great mountains were interesting; some were caved paths between masses of rigid rock, and other parts were regular glades that were surrounded by winter trees. The mountain itself looked somewhat intricate, as I could see from even a distance.

I had never been up a mountain before, and I wasn't sure what I thought of the prospect. Somewhat frightened, although that would never reach the houndoom's ears, but simultaneously exciting. I amused myself at the knowledge that the same factor created two coexisting feelings of relative difference in my mind.

"Well this terrain looks...challenging," I concluded without particular emotion. I hadn't yet assigned a singular one to form the reaction to what I could see. There was still a lot to cross before we got to the mountain, and at that knowledge I sighed.

"Crossing those fields there will be easy," he told me, gesturing to the regular tree-less land before the small quarry of rocks shot up from the ground, and further on, changed shape to create some type of maze. "But those rocks... I would chance missing them."

Past the short-lasted quarry, many of the rocks melded with ones surrounding them, and created a thick expanse impossible to squeeze between. From what I could see, the walls of rock, extending for leagues in all directions but forward, which was a small amount shorter before it reached other lands our side of the mountain's base, did not look climbable. The only choice was to take the paths through them, which I could see were slicing through in clear paths, but at the same time, looked complicated to follow and dangerous if threatened by rockfalls. The thought returned me to the hunting trip I had been on, and could nearly feel the rapid heartbeat in my chest urging me to rush forward, on high alert for anything that could have fallen upon me and squashed my spine.

The bandages Aemara had wrapped around my leg had mostly slipped off, and only a single one remained on my back ankle, because of travel, but the memory of the small wounds was still present, and made them pulse with reawakening.

"It doesn't look like we can do that," I grumbled, waiting a moment before tearing my gaze from the scenery below toward the houndoom. "Hey."

His eyes flashed to me and he drew his head back, shaking it as he went. "Well don't ask me! You don't want my help, remember?"

I felt my belly push out a rather forced breath of air. "If you _know _a way to cross without having to get through that bit first, then tell me."

"I might. I might not," he said, his upper body descending into a stretch. His tail, still elevated by his butt, waved around childishly.

I gave an audible sigh riddled with annoyance and flicked _my_ tail with agitation, the effect much less than that it could have been had it been full, and regrettably less than the dark type's. "You're useless," I growled, taking off down the slope. As I went, he followed humbly, and I wasn't sure if he was just going along with what I had chosen, or if he planned on breaking off and taking this shortcut he may or may not have had. If he did, I had reason to believe he would tell me.

It took him a moment, but when he was by my side again, he looked at me, failing to get a response. "I don't believe your pride would get in the way of your self-respect," he assumed.

"Pride _is _self-respect," I responded, and I could tell he wasn't going to take that for an answer.

"Pride is reputation. Self-respect is knowing that you will waste time and make yourself look the fool for letting your pride obstruct your better judgement. And therefore you choose it before your pride." He had a good point, but I was unwilling to let him win.

I knew why he was doing this and telling me such things. It was his aim to make me turn away from that dignity which always shot him down and prevented me from listening to him for a reasonable purpose, and give in to him, even if the result helped me more in the end. I wasn't a stranger to the idea, but I wasn't entirely fond of it either. I looked up at the path before me, noting the quarry. It didn't seem _too _bad...mostly hindering and time consuming. There were also small lakes of ice before even the quarry, and it didn't appear that there was another way to go in order to avoid them. Even if they were frozen, I hated lakes. I had learned that as a permanent fact after Izante had forced me into one—the whole reason I got into this mess.

Another gruff sigh rumbled in my throat before I came to a gradual stop and clenched my jaws, unable to open them for at least ten seconds while he waited with raised brows and eyelids half closed. "If you have another way, spill it."

"It's also much faster," he informed, and for a moment I thought I must have missed his answer. "They'll be somewhere between here and the expanse of rock. To catch up to them, it'll only take this shortcut."

"What _kind _of a shortcut is it, exactly?" I demanded, glaring around in an effort to catch sight of it.

A grin licked his chops. "I'll show you."

He began again off to the left, pursuing the entrance to this so called "shortcut." I didn't want to have to doubt him until I saw it for myself, but something told me that it was the safest way to go. Besides, there was no harm in taking a shortcut. I tried to wonder what he could instead be leading me to, and figured there wasn't much around this part that would cause terrible consequences. I followed him, and it wasn't long before we came to a dip in the earth, probably about the size of an average room on the Rockets' ship.

He dropped down into the ditch, as it was only around two metres to the bottom, and steadied himself as he turned around and waited for me to descend. I didn't make it down so quickly, however, and instead I tried to edge my way down carefully, my senses alert and my muscles fairly tense. I inched my top half down, trying to ground myself by pressing on the wall only slightly angled, but as soon as my back legs left the surface level and began to clamber at the wall, as the top half of my body was doing, I lost all grip. I skidded along the gravelly wall for a moment, becoming dislodged shortly after and tumbling to the ground.

I released bottled air as I landed on my right side, the earth forcing it from my chest. It took not a second later for breath to return, and once it did, I got to my feet and noted the houndoom holding a bemused expression. "Shut up," I grumbled, looking around to my right, as that was the direction we needed to go, and where the ditch's length stretched to before stopping.

I frowned, seeing nothing but the curved wall that came back around me on both sides, curling again to meet some distance behind me. It was as if somebody had captured a humungous kadabra and asked them to use their spoon to dig out a dip in the earth. I shuddered to think how huge that psychic type would have to have been, but dismissed it as soon as I realised I was forming ridiculous stories in my mind.

"So what now, genius?" I growled, spinning around to find him at the other end, behind me, where a gaping opening sat wide-mouthed before us.

"You have a habit of calling me Idiot, and now it's Genius? Make up your mind, Flair," he teased, jerking his head at the entrance to what looked like a tunnel.

"It's headed the wrong way," I objected flatly, turning to him with expectation for an answer after looking in the opposite direction, to my right, where we realistically needed to go.

"Yeah, that's the funny thing. You see, there's this new thing that tunnels do called _turning_. It means that the tunnels bend to _change direction_. It's just so weird!" he blabbed, his tone painfully patronising.

"Ya know, there's also this weird thing called '_you're a jerk'_!" I hissed, feeling a sudden urge to throw something heavy at his face. I began to proceed into the tunnel when I stopped myself, my suspended paw not yet with the permission to enter. I peered partway into the underground path, unable to see anything – not even the floor – due to an absence of light. With a wondering thought, I turned around and placed my clouded eyes where I wanted them. "Tell me, _genius,_ how exactly are we supposed to see?"

"See?" he questioned with a bit of a laugh, coming up beside me. "You're going to provide a flame, that's how."

"...Right. While you do what? Oh, hmm, let's see...nothing? Sounds about right. You get to waltz through there without a care in the world, while I provide the light. Do you know how draining that gets?" a second after the question, I felt somewhat stupid, as he was a fire type. Of _course _he knew. He saw this in my reconsidering expression and looked to be once again amused, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. "Alright, come on. This is a bet. Fair game of fire breather. Loser has to provide the light."

His trademark greasy grin wormed its way onto his face. "You're on, Flair."

Within an instant, we were both firing flamethrowers directly toward the ground, a little ways from the entrance as we stood side-on. I felt my breath quickly escaping; I hadn't taken a large enough breath before I'd started, and that was always the loser's undoing. Determined, I continued to push out a stream of flames, feeling the control for my breathing slipping away; I felt like a deflating balloon, and soon enough, stress in my shoulder muscles became apparent. My fire was weakening, as was the houndoom's, but it was clear who was to be the victor.

I forced it from my jaws at a steady pace until I could provide it with life no longer, every inch of me screaming for air, and as I cut it off, it felt like an eternity before I drew my next breath. My chest expanded with the welcoming of oxygen, and I could relax, focusing on giving myself air for the next few seconds. I had lost, but the satisfaction came onto the winner's face when the loser made eye contact. I tried to resist, but as he said nothing, I rolled my eyes and averted them, seeing his smugness as he shrugged, as if he hardly cared about his win. I knew otherwise, however, and whirled around to come face to face with the gaping entrance to the tunnels again. I huffed reluctantly as I continued to regain my breath.

The impending darkness was somewhat daunting after being so used to light surrounding me, even during night hours, when the moon showed its friendly face and lit my way. This, however, was more like some kind of mouth. We would travel down the endless oesophagus and become permanently swallowed food, ripe for digestion in whatever foul liquids happened to impede our way. Anything could have been down there. Reasoning with myself, however, I concluded that the houndoom would not lead me into a death trap. He may have been a tool and an idiot, but I was fairly certain he wasn't a murderer. Or suicidal.

"Come on," he urged, trying to hurry me along.

I blew a puff of smoke from my nostrils, waiting another few moments before I sprouted a flame.

**ooo**

Trees leisurely sped by as hurried legs powered on. Two lone figures ran through the woods, their statures extremely different to each other as they both avoided uprooted themselves on fallen logs and roots that periodically threatened to block their ways. One, a quadruped, wad reasonably faster than the other, and a more urgent drive pushed the figure through, occasional growls and complaints spilling from the creature's mouth. The other, quite content with running on two legs as two arms flapped about in a useless accompaniment, was slower and less hurried, giving a strong sense of contrast to the duo.

As they continued on, the tiredness they had accumulated during the night they had barely slept through in an effort to reach their goal increasing, the quadruped narrowed her eyes and continued her focus. The blue fur covering her body shimmered somewhat each time the sunlight caught glimpses of her through the canopy, and highlighted the darker coloured patches patterning her back.

"And then I find out she's staying with us? I mean, at that point, I didn't think things could get any worse, and yet..." The pokémon trailed off, clearly conflicted about something. She eyed the ground, barely able to define the details of any leaf or stone that whizzed by, and then looked up to the quagsire beside her, stretched out and tilted like some sort of running weasel. His face held a smile without further complication, his simple eyes set on the road ahead. Not once did he show a sign of response. "Ugh...never mind," the glaceon growled, turning her gaze back to the road.

It wasn't long after she had caught wind of that troublesome flareon, who she had been unfortunately sent after to travel with and see safely to the mountains. She had been highly unimpressed with the fact that she had left, as confirmed by the teddiursa child, hours before the assigned time, going directly against the colony leader's orders. In consequence, the ice type was forced to pursue her and keep a regularly speedy pace, all the while tracking her movements. She was glad she managed to follow the right trail, but what was strange about it was the second scent, which indicated another that had been with her, and likely still was. She knew the scent. She was quite confident about whose it was, yet constantly denied it, trying to pinpoint any sort of reason that houndoom would have for travelling with Dusty but unable to come up with feasible results.

It was not a minute later that an unusual sight popped into view. Distorted undergrowth and blackened trunks made up a small area that was obviously the result of a battle or some kind of disagreement. She hardly found it odd. She was well aware of how annoying that houndoom could get, and figured that if it _was _him, which she did not find herself doubting – especially due to the strong scent that, she found, was unmistakably his – then it was no surprise that the flareon would have launched into an assault. There had been times when the glaceon herself lost control of her temper, and in almost all situations that he had been in her presence, it was his snide remarks and overall provocative nature that had caused it.

"Figures," she whispered to herself, hardly pausing as the tiny battlefield showed itself before she left it in her wake, and continued on, the quagsire without a single implication of stopping. "I don't know _why _Habib wanted to let her join," she growled, digging through her mind for answers.

Every time she decided to say something negative about the fire type, however, she was constantly reminded of the one thing that caused her guilt. It was true that she may have been frustrating and possibly not trustworthy, but she had initiative. The glaceon was willing to admit that much, at least, as well as the fact that she had courage. She was unsure if she would have had the gall to do what Dusty had done, especially when it came to the lone act that looped in her mind.

The flareon threw herself into me, forcing a cry of shock to ring from my throat as we soared for a moment before hitting the deck, her body falling onto mine. I had no idea what had happened until I angled my head, spotting the nearby human with a raised gun, clearly after just firing. For a second I felt a pang of panic wash through me as I visited the possibility that she had been shot.

"MOVE!" she shouted, my legs suddenly finding cause to work. I shuffled from underneath her, my mouth agape in the shock of realisation. Had she just pushed me out the way of a bullet? One that was meant for me? I wasn't sure, but as another gunshot exploded in the air, a second bullet flew directly past one of her ears and claimed a nick.

The shock took me by surprise, holding me in place as I stared after getting to my paws, disbelieving of what had just happened. I wanted to deny that this flareon, someone who I was sure I had established a mutual dislike with, had just saved my life in possible exchange for hers. I knew she was not mortally wounded, or so my mind told me as I saw no fatal injury or extensive blood. My mind presented strong bewilderment; such an act was in need of repayment. The sheer surprise of the situation was what captured me in its astounding embrace, and as a result, I found myself staring at her, eyes perceiving her in a new light. As someone...possibly trustworthy, and perhaps even capable of earning the title, upon earning it formally, friend.

"Why are you—" she hissed, and paused to moan in discomfort, "—just standing there?!" The question was a good one, but I found myself unable to answer as she sneered and barked, "Get away!"

The severity of the situation caused me to listen to her, and without thinking, I flashed a look of all that bewilderment tangled with very subtle gratefulness, turned and ran, bounding away from what I realised could quite possibly have been the act leading to her demise.

Immediately I regretting fleeing, but it had obviously been what she had wanted, and returning would only cause problems. Instead I quickly came upon Luck, who I had definitely been surprised to see with the flareon when she made the announcement in the crate. I had been entirely oblivious to his capture until that point.

Coming into his view as he swatted a ninjask from the air, I shouted at him, gaining his attention. "It's Dusty; she's in trouble! Human, gun; that way," I panted, jerking my head in the direction I had come. Very quickly he nodded, uttering thanks for my assistance, obviously intending to end the human's pitiful life. I watched solemnly as he thudded hurriedly away, and hoped with regret for a bundle of things that the flareon would be saved. Although she had initially been an annoyance, this act alone had proven that she was of some worth.

It made me question myself, wondering if I would have done the same if I was in her situation. As painful as it was, each time the question rang throughout my mind, the answer was always no.

Azure shook her head violently as she and Splash continued, reluctant to admit that she was undoubtedly in debt. What the flareon had done for her – to give her a second chance – was something she had never been taught. Not from the moment her clan rejected her for the odd patterning of her back. They had deemed her some sort of outcast, different, even for something as meagre as different markings. Some believed it was a sign from the Underworld, the mark of something devilish and sinister. For a time, Azure had believed them.

She shook the past from her mind and blinked out any visions clouding her sight, making the decision to focus ahead. Hopefully they would come upon Dusty and her dark type companion soon, but she was willing to bet that they still had a little ways to travel.

Sighing, the glaceon and the accompanying quagsire exchanged not another word for around another hour, by which time she had come to the end of the forest and looked out upon the ranges before the mountain. She disliked the thought of crossing the expanse of multiple terrains, and turned her sights elsewhere, discovering the familiar ditch that she had encountered in the past. She wondered if the houndoom had chosen to take the underground route, and determined by the scorched ground near the entrance that he must have.

In the time that she had known he was with Dusty, she knew that he was doing so in the absence of hostility. Although she probably showed it to him, he had no such intentions, which posed the question: what exactly did he want? He knew he wasn't welcome within the colony, and Azure in particular condemned him for her own reasons. She knew that showing unnecessary contempt in Dusty's presence was unwise, however, and came to the conclusion that she and the houndoom would remain silent about private affairs. Hopefully he would agree to the same policy. After all, he probably lacked any desire, as did she, to expose such matters to the flareon. If he wanted to remain friends with Dusty – if they were even that – then he wished to save both himself and the ice type a large portion of strife, he would keep his smart trap sealed. If he would, she would.

Casting the thought momentarily aside, the glaceon slid down the rim of the crumbly wall before pushing off and landing gracefully onto the packed soil. She turned to see the quagsire lie on his side and stretch his arms up before he began rolling down the wall.

Azure scoffed, averting her eyes with embarrassment and hoped that nobody had seen. She cleared her throat and looked back to him as he stood upright once more, a look of placidity gracing his oblivious face. She felt like face-pawing as she heaved a gruff sigh and stalked toward the entrance to the cave, unsure how she would have any hope of seeing in the wretched darkness.

Thinking quietly, she snatched a long branch suitable to be carried in her maw, making sure to angle it to fit as she and her temporary companion slipped inside, hoping soon enough to meet with the two fire types.

**ooo**

We had been padding for a short time in silence, my mouth providing the flame and therefore disabling speech, when the houndoom spoke. "Dusty..." It got my attention, but I didn't turn in case I disturbed the fire. "Who were you fighting back there?"

He presumably saw the frown upon my face as I recoiled a little, unsure what he meant. _'What kind of a question is that?'_

"Back there, when you attacked me." At this I was not any less confused. He could tell what kind of question I itched to ask and its enhancing tone, and decided to clarify. "You were firing attacks at _me_, yes, but...you weren't fighting me. Your mind was elsewhere."

I blinked, wishing to swallow, but unsure if it would put out the fire or not. _'Who is he to assume that? He can't just decide what I'm thinking and what I'm not. He can't know __**anything **__for sure.' _

For a moment I wondered why the fire was not yet out; the tiny flame I had spurted wavered weakly in the darkness, as it took constant breath to keep it going, and I quickly reminded myself that it was lucky I could breathe in while, instead of breathing out, simply pushing my cheeks to empty the air already filling my mouth. It lased but a moment, and required concentration, but I was able to maintain an appropriate and much-needed cycle. I wasn't sure how it would go without this knowledge; perhaps the uselessness of it all would require me to extinguish the flame for a temporary time, and the thought seemed tedious—lighting and then relighting flames was annoying, especially ones that feed only off the heat one provides and the air one pumps into it. It took more effort than one would think. But that was the element of fire in a nutshell. Unpredictable.

He tilted his head, his mouth open as if to say something, his eyes in place and scanning the ground as we walked. "I wonder...who it was that you were fighting. If not me, then someone else that annoys you," he guessed, and I wanted to cease the fire to tell him that he was pretty much the only one that ground my nerves. Sure, Tarla and Azure, as well as Cupborn, were all variations of irritating, but in their case it was somewhat minor and part of who they were. This pokémon annoyed others on purpose.

'_Who cares who I was "fighting" anyway? I don't get why this is something he needs to get his precious little tail in a knot over.' _The frown on my face remained as I realised that I didn't have a way to tell him any of this accurately.

"Maybe it was someone who you're mad at," he mused, bringing up his head to walk more casually as he moulded his face into expressions I wasn't even sure that houndoom could make. "Someone that wronged you horribly."

I suddenly realised something. He was intentionally saying all this with a mock-curious voice, indicating that he had figured it out a considerable time ago, but didn't bother to let me know. Instead he played mind games and spoke with a tone making me wonder about his conclusion to the situation. _'There is NO DOUBT he is the most annoying pokémon ever to enter my life.' _

"Someone...that graced the days of your childhood but now haunts the nights in your sleep?"

The words caught me off guard, and I felt a horrible pain in my stomach, as if a beedrill had just shoved a jagged forearm into my gut and twisted. _'He...he means...' _

"Someone you thought you trusted, but doesn't even reach the title of friend anymore." His face grew somewhat solemn, still holding that element of playfulness I wasn't sure was necessary at that moment.

'_Why...do I have to be reminded of this?' _my mind questioned, and my expression hardened, as if a permanent engraving of sadness would forever be carved onto my face. I found it hard to shake the feeling, my expression constantly returning to what it had been not a second before.

"Someone who you thought you were over."

I suffered a metaphorical blow to the chest and felt my head lower as a reflex, my eyes scraping the soil that approached underneath. "Stop it," I commanded, more weakness to my voice that strength. Immediately the surrounding area lost its glow, and we were absorbed by the darkness.

Neither of us moved as I remained still, my shoulders up by the sides of my head, my mane failing to provide its usual comfort; I recognised it as prickly and intrusive. My tail only felt wrong, the weight not nearly enough as it pathetically sagged from my rear end. We both stayed in silence as the thoughts hung heavily in the air, invading my mind and probably resting harmlessly on his.

"Don't...not again." I kept my gaze fixed on the ground, regardless of whether or not I could actually see anything. "Do you know...how _hard_ I have tried...to forget that? How much I have denied its actuality—how I have been forced to pretend like she never did exist?" I waited a number of seconds, the answer not reaching my ears. I doubted that he was even thinking about it. "But you know what? ...It doesn't work. There's nothing to suggest that she never was; I _have no proof in my mind _that she never entered my life. Every day I live with these memories..." I fought to keep myself calm, but the rising emotion was making it increasingly difficult. "You wouldn't understand. _Nobody _could understand unless they'd been through the same thing. Yes, I can remember those good times...and yes, I wish with my _entire being _that she was once again beside me, helping me through things as I helped her." I breathed out in a despondent chuckle, shaking my head with a slowness that surely branded my position as a hopeless one. I didn't care that he couldn't see; he could probably hear it in my voice.

"Betrayal is rough," he began, and I was momentarily surprised by his evident showing of sincerity. "Trust me; I know." I was aware he was about to follow with 'but.' "But you're taking this really badly."

"I don't need a lecture from _you_," I snarled, hearing the disdain in my voice swell.

"No, Dusty. Listen to me." Again with my name. "Look...you can see how this is affecting you."

"What's your point?"

"My point is...I think you need to find a way to deal with this. You're clearly not coping." I could hear him shuffle closer, and I fought the feeling of dejectedness; I had to be strong. I had to replace it with anger. Even in knowing so, it faltered as I once again realised that anger was an inefficient protection mechanism against sorrow. They complimented each other. One led to the other, and it worked the other way around just as easily.

"I'm warning you," I growled, biting down on the inside of my cheek as I recognised the lingering frailty. _'No.'_

"The way you attacked me back there was a prime example. You couldn't physically reach the problem, so you went for the nearest thing that you could sink your teeth into. You exploded with anger at one mention of this pokémon's name. You're unstable."

"I KNOW!" I boomed, and immediately silenced myself, despite my wishes to continue. I closed off my connection with sight as I sealed my eyes.

He took another step. "Then why don't you address it?"

"I don't know _HOW_," I explained with an increasing hint of desperation to my shuddering voice.

"Why don't you just...get over it?"

My eyes snapped open.

In a roar of flames, I shot forward, halting when my face came within an inch of his. My burning hate for him suddenly welled, and I felt myself wishing many awful things upon his pitiful existence. My heart rate increased, my breathing jagged, and I bit down with such pressure that I thought my teeth might split. The rise of exaggerated ire was like a rotating fireball in my chest, spreading through my body and fuelling every action that followed. "Don't you _DARE_ use that on me!" I thundered, his face lighting up with orange illumination every second or so words, searing flames bouncing around in my mouth and singeing the air in front of my teeth, only to dissipate and be replaced shortly after. It danced in horizontal streaks as my head moved in a fashion to invite such behaviour. "You do NOT have the right to tell me what to do with my emotions!"

Using every inch of my strength, I resisted erupting with fire and lunging at him with bared sharp teeth. I felt my legs quaking with the desire to stretch out and quench their extreme desire for blood, for his punishment. Breath entered my nose and exited again with uncategorised fragmentation while my ears pricked their air with their elongated stiffness. My head, swimming with mad sorrow and lividity, pounded with this need and with that, mostly the desire to direct my heated hate to unleash it and thereby be done with the problem.

I blocked out all reason as I focused solely on what I wanted at that moment: some kind of rightful justice for his careless words, and with great shame, I felt myself wanting unwarranted closure. I wanted to avoid all this conflict, even if my rage spoke out contradictorily, and with a random spark of something I couldn't identify, I thought closure would give me peace. If he could somehow, in some way, provide me with it, then I would have been grateful. Reluctantly so, but grateful nonetheless. The thought angered me; I didn't want to condone his reckless behaviour. He had no right to say those things. He needed to be taught a _lesson_.

"Did you ever consider," I spat, scorn soaking my words as I forgot the momentary gap in my anger, "how much she meant to me? Do you not _realise _that she was my best friend for years?" The raging tornado inside me twisted and clambered its way to the fore of my thoughts. "How can you not see why this is affecting me? Are you that _blind_?" My head began to tilt, my anger twitching my nose. "Do you not _know _what that's _like_?!" The flames still seeped between my teeth, light flickering between us as my gaze jumped between his two eyes. "Or are you that insolent, that _shameless_ that you _have none to lose_?"

I obviously struck a nerve when, as the fire tested the air before my mouth, I notice his face change in the disappearing dim light. He didn't look enormously offended or affected, but the result was good enough, and from there I planned to work; planned to dig up his core and lacerate anything that gave him internal comfort.

Interrupting our 'discussion' was a set of pawsteps in the distance. With no more than another few seconds to determine, it became clear that they were closing in on us. It was difficult to estimate any sort of detail, but I knew that it couldn't have been a heavy foe, one who would have broken the earth in its effort to chase its prey.

The fuming odium still burning brightly in my chest, I faced the direction they would be coming from—where we had come. The houndoom did the same, and I watched as I could hear them near. Deciding fast and in the midst of my anger, I charged up a flamethrower, eyes clouded with anger. These cave dwellers wanted to interrupt somebody's conversation? They could interrupt someone else's. It frustrated me to no end that such a situation was suspended for interruption.

Constricting my stomach muscles and exhaling with more effort than a normal breath would take, I fired a powerful stream of flames, ones that whipped about and illuminated the path to both sides, as well as partway into the path cutting across; we had just come from the right of the intersection, left when we were travelling the path and turned onto the one we resided on now. The fire hammered the ground, flames gushing in multiple directions as the fire seemed to separate where it met with the earth to snake its way to another victim.

I had no idea what the houndoom thought, but for some nonsensical reason he probably disapproved. Frustration riding my tone, I waited, listening for any sort of change in pace of the pursuers. However, I soon came to realise that listening while expelling a long line of flames was not exactly efficient or really that possible, so I cut it off, only realising as I did so that I was fairly out of breath. I panted; it had been a reasonable effort.

The pawsteps had not subsided, but they certainly sounded more controlled. To my annoyance they kept coming, and I shot a glare to the houndoom, who clearly couldn't see me with the absence of fire, our eyes not accustomed to the dark. "Can't you use your brain and give us some light?"

It went unsaid that I had exerted enough energy, both in previously lighting our path and now because of the defence I was clearly willing to uphold, as opposed to his...nothing. He hesitated, but probably realised I was right and spurted a flame from his lips, keeping it at the end of his muzzle. In response, I prepared myself, only a few metres from him and more from the tunnel we had been in and come from, and kept my head low.

There were familiar shouts which suddenly reached my ears, my legs losing their formation. It took me a moment to realise what was happening and who it was when they burst into the tunnel, catching me off guard in my moment of contemplation. "...Azure," I commented to myself with a perplexed frown, my anger beginning to somehow quell. A quagsire appeared behind her, the last few steps of his ridiculous two-limbed run displayed as he stopped beside her. I finally registered, remembering Habib's word about the other pokémon that were supposed to be accompanying me.

She said nothing as her eyes settled on me before quickly switching to the houndoom. I knew she would want to know who on earth he was, but I really had no desire to explain. If he wanted to her to know, he could tell her himself.

Without warning, the flame died out. Nothing lit the tunnel as the houndoom failed to relight his fire, and with a constant rumble, I began listening. Something told me that he was not keen on meeting with others. The noise of tiny shuffling met my ears from my right, and instantly I pounced, crashing into something larger than me and skidding across the rocky earth. Quickly I allowed flames to circle in my mouth, as if I was about to spit a fireball onto his face, and watched as he cowered beneath my dominance. He sighed as Azure commanded Splash to situate himself beside me, probably in an effort to warn the fire and a dark type with a pokémon who had two elements he was weak to at his disposal.

"Alright, alright," he sighed, and I watched him make an odd face of discomfort but acknowledgement for his imprisonment.

Slowly I climbed off him, allowing him to get to his feet. I kept the rotating fireball in my jaws, mostly for light, and waited for judgement. When none came, and the dual type merely locked eyes with the glaceon, who tossed the short branch she had been carrying onto the ground. Without another moment of hesitation, I spat my fire at the stick and watched as it lit up. Azure instructed the quagsire to hold it, as his paws were most suited for carrying such things.

"What the hell are you doing?" I needed not remind him that he had made a break for it in the direction both we and the newly arrived had come. "Retreating? You still have to guide me." I lit a flame between sentences to ensure he knew I was serious. Something told me he didn't plan on escaping while the quagsire stood in front of him. "You run at the sight of a _glaceon_?" I questioned incredulously with an appropriate hint of mockery. It was quite amusing that he found a pokémon of a type he was strong against to be frightening. It certainly didn't appear as if he began to flee because of the quagsire.

He exhaled again, clearly unhappy to have been caught. "Alright, Azure," he began, and I recoiled in surprise, blinking repeatedly as I flicked between the two.

'_They know each other?' _

The glaceon remained silent, and I turned to her, momentarily forgetting the collar I needed to keep clamped around the houndoom's neck. "What're you doing?" He spoke quite casually, agitated and partially suspicious.

"I was instructed to accompany Dusty," she answered, her voice steady and her stature trying to come across as authoritative. I had a feeling she was only attempting to keep her cool, but at the same time wasn't going to lose it with ease. I could tell she wanted to question him on his motives, but something held her back. He seemed to have some sort of invisible control over her.

"Habib's lapdog, I see." He narrowed his eyes, giving her a greasy sneer. "From one to another, hey? And yet you still can't remain loyal—"

"Shut up, Zaion," she snapped, and I was caught by so many surprises that I wasn't sure which was the most confusing. My head and his rotated simultaneously, our eyes exchanging an unspoken gain of knowledge. This was the first I had heard of his name, and somehow it felt weird. It was then that I noticed confusion had taken the place of my anger. Not entirely, but a decent amount.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?"

Silence filled the cave as the ice type glanced away, a frown pasted upon her face. Surely she could have scented him on her way to us, so if she hadn't wanted to encounter him, why had she come? Perhaps...Zaion...was wrong, and her loyalties lay with just one leader. His statement had confused me; what on earth had he meant? _'Loyalties? Is it that Azure belongs to anther colony and hasn't told Habib? If so, that wouldn't be hard to correct, and I doubt Habib would even be against the idea.' _I considered the possibility that this houndoom's definition of loyalty was something as simple as that, whether the one she was meant to remain loyal to minded or not.

Nobody wished to enlighten me as Azure trudged scornfully past, Zaion watching her as she went. I too followed her, but returned to the fire and dark type to shake my head in question. He barely responded as he got to his paws and stood, signalling with a flick of his head for us to continue. The quagsire sat complacently, a smile plastered upon his face as he held the torch tipped with fire.

"Um...what do I do with him?" I asked, mainly directing it at the glaceon.

"Splash, come," she commanded dully, not making an effort to turn her head as she spoke. She continued on, head low and tail drooping. The water and ground type happily waddled in her wake, surpassing every one of us in height. The thought of having a large pokémon like him, probably ruthless when instructed and of two types that I, like the houndoom, was weak to. I made a mental note to stay on his good side.

Tossing my head questioningly at Idiot...or Zaion...I shook my head lightly, still confused and asking silently for answers. He merely exhaled and padded past me without any degree of hastiness, and I was left to stand in place, wondering how this had managed to turn into such a strange situation. I hardly knew what to think.

Scowling, I turned away, following the others further into the cave and hopefully in the right direction.


	26. Chapter Twenty-six: Knock-knock

**Chapter Twenty-six: Knock-knock**

It was an expectation of mine to see ground type pokémon. I thought they would be nearly everywhere, littering the hardened earth and burrowing through its core, carving paths that would soon be forgotten. Sometimes I thought of it to be quite a nasty scheme; a ground type could just dig its way through a section of the ground and wait for prey above – either that or any unsuspecting trespasser – to fall through the weaker parts and be sucked into the earth. I never really thought about that while living on the surface until the underground tunnels revealed such possibilities to me. It seemed somewhat unrealistic that some heftier pokémon could trek on the surface without falling into a hole that they themselves happened to make within that small collection of seconds.

Sometimes the ceiling above me would arch so high that I found it unbelievable that there was stable land on top. Some part of me was glad for relocating to this lower level, but part of me was worried—as well as the danger of being a pokémon on the outside falling down, for us there was a danger of _them_ falling on_ us_. I didn't wish such a death upon any of the pokémon I was travelling with, let alone me, as even the houndoom did not escape my concern.

He and Azure, Splash and I had been trudging through an ongoing tunnel for a short time – possibly about half an hour, during which my temper managed to cool off – and in that time, hardly a word was uttered. I wanted to ask him how he knew Azure, but I knew the chances of him answering that were low. If he hadn't told me yet, and he hadn't before they met up with us, then I didn't imagine he had a wish to tell me at all. I stopped myself from huffing when I compared it with my own wishes—I wouldn't want him to know of any personal information about me. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from wanting to hear about his relationship with the ice type. It wasn't as if I could ask Splash either. He was as dull as the surrounding cave walls, and provided no such entertainment. Not even words. It hadn't been long since they met up with us, but I had a feeling that the dual type was not accustomed to talking much, if at all, and it even crossed my mind that perhaps he wasn't capable.

After coming to a forked path and hearing the two canine pokémon argue over which way was the correct one, we eventually decided to follow Azure. I had no idea if the action was wise or not, but she gave us little choice as she began to strut down the tunnel she chose with little more than acknowledgement that there was another direction. Zaion (I still had trouble attaching the name to the face) was less than impressed or even accepting as we continued, and he dropped back to pad with me, a firmer gait and more focused attention suggesting that he was more alert that usual. He was clearly annoyed to have been overridden with the glaceon's choice, and looked to firmly believe we would end up somewhere we didn't have a desire to go.

Realising my chance had arrived to try to get some information out of him, I warily glanced up ahead to check that Azure's ears were too far out of reach to hear our words. "Houndoom," I hissed quietly, hoping the blubbery form of the quagsire between us and the glaceon would block some of the sound. "What's going on? How do you know her?"

He looked relieved if anything that I had spoken, although the implication was so miniscule that I had to recheck if that was what it really was. His eyes didn't meet mine as he muttered, "We're...old _friends_."

"You don't look like friends to me," I mumbled. "Neither do you sound like it. Or even smell like it. It's like there's some wafting stench of hate emanating equally from the both of you."

He only allowed a frown to press atop his eyes, and curled his mouth into an expression of berating confusion, as if I had said something absurd and completely unrelated... And then I realised I had. "Maybe 'friends' isn't the exact term to use."

"No," I agreed with several nods, following his line of sight past the powder blue pokémon and landing on the glaceon up ahead. "It certainly doesn't seem like it."

"It's mere past quarrels is all," he told me simply, and I knew from that statement that he was not inclined to tell me more. As much as I wanted to know, it wasn't going to happen.

After another short while, we had come to an opening that overlooked a cavern far down below, which had opened up from the path we had been travelling to create a large roughly circular area. The distance amazed me; I wasn't aware that the cave spanned so far downward. It was the distance that a short cliff would be from the ground, but when it was beneath the surface, it seemed all the more strange to see. There was a narrow ledge curving from our right that ran along the outside of the large room and descended for a time before it dropped off. The height of the end of the ledge, which stopped before the directly opposite side of the room to which we were standing, was still too great to be able to drop from. That was, unless one was willing to call themselves experts (but even then chance a broken leg). On the left side of the opened room branched another tunnel that burrowed through the great wall of rock that shaped one side of the room, and I suddenly came to wonder just how many underground paths there were.

"Flair," muttered the houndoom, and to my surprise, I realised I was the only one stationed by the large opening in the wall that overlooked the cavern. They had all taken the path to the left that continued on from the one we had just been passing along. In my distracted state, I hadn't realised that there was another way to go other than through the opening and into the large room. He jerked his head in the direction Splash and Azure had walked.

I blinked a few times and bounded after them as Zaion turned and began to stalk away, catching up to him in no time. When I spoke, my words were hurried with excitement, which I hadn't purposely done, but was perfectly content with it anyway. "Did you _see _that?" I paused to see his reaction, but he merely stared ahead with half-open eyes, clearly far from amused. I didn't care though. "It was amazing! Like some giant...circular...hall in the centre of a _cave_!"

"It's not the centre," he murmured, and I cocked my head, somehow feeling washed with a form of mollified joy.

"Oh, well, it's still awesome." I glanced back over my shoulder, only witnessing the stream of light pouring in from the opening, which was difficult to see from the angle, much less the room itself. Minor disappointment seeped through my mind as I turned back, but I shrugged, angling to the right as the others did so whilst following the path.

It soon occurred to me that we were inside the wall that the left tunnel of that room had burrowed through, and concluded that we would be crossing over it, considering the different levels. I found myself wondering what other wondrous elements of caves were in existence; in all my travels with my trainer, I had only occasionally passed through caves, and the ones we made it through were short and daft. It was amazing to explore a proper one. However, happily I corrected myself, noting that this was hardly exploring. Exploring would mean stumbling across things more amazing than a simple _room_ and on purpose; I began to picture all the other kinds of sights I would be able to see.

Surprisingly the number of pokémon we happened across was fairly limited. The whole trip consisted of a few families of drilbur, a sandshrew or two and a couple of trapinch. They were often on the move for meals or, as it was for the drilbur, popping up at random intervals and intersecting our paths by mistake. One of them shot up from the ground right in front of me at one stage, scaring the living daylights out of me. She repeated hasty apologies before disappearing; I got the impression that she was looking for someone, but I wasn't to know. The details didn't exactly matter anyway.

There had not been another cavern such as the one we had encountered earlier, much to my disappointment, but the amazements didn't cease. On a few occasions, the cave became granite, and sometimes produced more tunnels in one spot than we could have split up to travel down. A wider room soon came into view, the walls extending outward and the ceiling a was fraction higher to allow for hanging stalactites to drop from above and have enough room to shatter. As we began to pass through, me at the back with the others in front, I was glad to deduce that there were no spears of rock looking to be unstable enough to fall, and I was reassured by my judgement alone that it was safe to pass through. Besides, the houndoom had clearly been through these parts before, and therefore was somewhat familiar with the oddities lurking in the depths of the underground tunnels. If he thought there was something wrong, I believe he would have spoken up.

Stalagmites grew from the floor, riddling the walking surface with their obstructing forms. The arrangement went on for a while, and even though I was somewhat assured that we were not going to get separated, I had that odd sick feeling that was hard to shake.

I made the decision to walk with the others, but my random position change might have drawn some kind of unnecessary attention; I didn't want them to think I was afraid of the possibility that they might descend and pierce my body, or that I was frightened of enemies which may have crept up from behind. "Hey, uhh...what's up ahead?" I asked aloud. I tried to look as casual as I could as I waited for their answer.

"Um," Zaion began, tossing his head out in front before returning it to me. "Nothing of note."

"Oh, really?" I asked, pretending to be totally clueless. He looked at me oddly and nodded slowly with a raised brow. I waited a moment longer after purposely averting my eyes, and upon looking back to him, his questioning face made me clarify. "Oh, it's just that I can't really see anything up ahead. You know, with three pokémon in my way."

He furrowed his brow, and was quite perplexed. "Dusty. The room is wide," he began, gesturing to the rest of the room at once. "You just have to look past us. And what view could three pokémon like us possibly obscure?"

"Hey," I started, realising for a moment that he had a valid argument, "I couldn't see, okay?" I reiterated, a little bewilderment in my tone as I shrugged,

"Right." He whirled around and continued on.

I was a little agitated that he didn't seem at all to care. "Well, I think I'll just..."

Not waiting for a reply, I trotted past him, feeling his eyes on my back as I continued, and stopped at the front after passing Splash and ending up beside Azure. The glaceon was clearly not very impressed as she glared at me. I understood; it wasn't like we were friends. She heaved a sigh and I turned around, eying the houndoom from up front. His head was turned, but he probably knew I was looking.

We walked around protruding spires of rock as we went, and a few times I got to stand on stumps, the top half no longer there. None of the stalactites fell either, and I assumed that they were fixed to the ceiling with security that was difficult to surpass. Nevertheless, it was difficult to come by and rely on reassurance alone; at least, travelling with a pokémon beside me, we would have more of a chance to defend ourselves if one of them cascaded from above and threatened to puncture our bodies.

We kept going, encountering a small pool at some point, which we stopped to drink from. It was appropriately guarded by rock watchman sprouting from the cavern floor, and for some reason I was compelled to imagine them with human dress and some type of spear. And then I imagined a moustache on one of them, a broader one, and was so distracted by the other amusing mental images which generated in my mind that I forgot about the fact that we were on the move, the others departing from the lake before me. When I realised, I flicked my head about and quickly caught up with them.

We made it out of the cavern and popped out into a tunnel branching left and right, each of us displaying a notable difference in our tenseness. I could relax now that there was no blatantly obvious danger, even if it had only been falling stalactites that were the threat. The coast was clear, and there was nothing that could visibly cause any sort of wariness.

The others began to move off to the right, and I skipped ahead to catch up with glaceon, thoughts of her telling me what had happened between her and the dark type testing my mind. When I walked beside her once again, she sighed irritably, making me strangely content.

"So you...know the houndoom," I confirmed slowly. She remained silent, so I took it upon myself to continue. "Tell me...how long have you known him?"

A spark jumped between us, some sort of wave that shattered a wall she learnedly hoped I wouldn't even gaze upon. I continued to look her in the eyes as my curiosity gained me the right to know what exactly was going on. If they didn't want me to know, then they could keep their strange rivalry to themselves and stop involving me in it. Even though they hadn't said a word to each other since their "greeting" when Azure and Splash ran into us, aside from the argument over the path we were going to take at one stage, they constantly shared looks of silent disdain they clearly didn't want to voice.

However, I would be caught in the crossfire, and their mutual mistrust of one another made it difficult to make decisions based on fact and logic alone. If that was the way it had to be, then I believed I deserved to know why my journey was being obstructed by personal matters. The conversation they had exchanged upon meeting with each other in particular stuck with me; there were things mentioned that I wanted the answers to, but then again, I probably didn't have the appropriate jurisdiction. I fought with myself to leave it alone, but regardless, I was left immensely curious.

She shifted uncomfortably and looked ahead, as if maintaining some sort of expected pride. "I don't wish to answer."

"You don't have a choice," I growled, and she was momentarily shocked, and then her condescension returned.

"I always have a choice. And I'm choosing not to tell you." She swished her tail in a manner that reminded me of her insolence on the ship, and suddenly fragments of those events flashed in my mind.

"Sooner or later, I'm gonna find out. You guys can't look at each other without some sort of trade of hate. I wanna know what is up with that; I do believe I have a right to know why the members of my travelling party are incapable of getting along for at least a few minutes. If it didn't affect your ability to make rational decisions, I'd be more likely to leave it alone."

"That's asking too much," she snapped, twitching her head toward me but not actually directing her eyes to mine. It was my turn to react with shock, and I proceeded to stare at her, almost bewildered. She was as stubborn as Zaion.

"So you think that I have no right to know? Is that it? You guys are allowed to go on and banter about this and that, and nearly get into a physical fight, and you tell me that it's not my business?" I tried to catch her eyes while not letting Zaion come into awareness of our argument. "Yeah, I get privacy. But this is ridiculous. What happens when the fight involves me, and I'm forced to choose between trusting you or him? Can you still not explain it then? Is that what you call fair?"

"Oh, just shut up!" she hissed, finally meeting my eyes. She quickly looked back to Zaion, who was thankfully not paying us attention. His sights were set on a nearby duo of wary rattata. I assumed he was rather eager to catch some food, on account of how we hadn't eaten all day so far. She looked to hold something back before giving in and whispering quietly, with almost a hint of shame, "I can't _tell _you."

I snorted. Couldn't tell me? What kind of nonsense did she expect me to freely believe? "And why not? You two have some kind of falling out? What, were you..." I tried to search my mind for possible answers, chancing one that came to mind. The thought raised my spirits a little with amusement. I nearly chuckled with cheekiness before I proposed, "Were you once mates or something?"

"What?!" she responded, the incredulousness in her tone melting through the solid rock walls. Immediately she piped down and cleared her voice, redirecting her face as Zaion looked up, obviously curious about the sudden outburst. If she could have turned red and have it show through her blue fur, she would have. She looked to readjust herself and uttered to me in a hushed voice, "No! Of course not! Why would you even suggest that?" The disgust in her words made me smile with humorousness; the thought of being mates with that houndoom was on a level of repulsiveness suited to her reaction.

"Calm down," I replied, an entertained scowl brushing my face. I spoke the sentence as if she had reacted far more dramatically than what she had needed to.

She threw me a glare I was suddenly sure could startle the fiercest of enemies. "Don't be so absurd."

"It was just a question," I responded with a claim to innocence. At the same time, my voice betrayed layers of patronisation.

She rumbled and stared at the ground for a collection of seconds before looking up toward the path before us, the torch Splash still held emanating its light. I took a moment to admire the awe that entered my mind and embodied my limbs when I came into the presence of fire, embracing its glory. There were so many things I loved about fire, and when I blinked, only to open them on the glaceon beside me, I could see nothing but solemness. It was then that I recognised the weight of duty and sealed knowledge which dragged her down and stole her thoughts. Clearly the answer to the question I had put forth carried elements of a burden, or at least something that she felt she could not easily share. I could understand, but at the same time I was still highly curious to know, although I didn't wish to press any further.

I felt my nose scrunch as my cheeks elevated, pushing up against my eyes in a face of reluctant compliance. I released it with an exhalation and grunted in surrender before uttering, "Fine... I won't hound you for answers."

The glaceon waited a moment before turning to me with some mild degree of disbelief. Her brow shaped her eyes with a frown of question, and I raised mine, giving a light nod. She looked mutedly thankful and relieved. I could tell that another minute of thinking she would have to spill the beans at my request would have pulled uncomfortably on vines she wanted suspended in secret, which I did not want to be responsible for. She did not ask questions, but merely gave me the tiniest of joyless smiles and returned her attention to the path.

I sighed in disappointment; it was true that I wanted to know, to learn of their shared past, but rightfully it wasn't mine to know. In fact, she had no obligation to me whatsoever, and I had acted as if she owed me the world._ 'Well...I did save her life on one occasion,'_ I thought in consideration, but, remembering back to the incident with Sed, Tooloo and that Mr. Mime, I reiterated to myself that she had come to my rescue. If I recalled correctly – for the incident, due to my state at the time, was a muddled mess – Splash had retaliated first. It occurred to me that I had forgotten to thank him deciding that sometime I would.

"So..." Looking to her again, I held her gaze for a moment to check she was paying attention. "We even?"

She didn't smile, but she was complacent with the notion. She gave a brusque nod. On the contrary, I smiled.

**ooo**

"I told you it was a foolish idea to cross through here," Tarla grumbled, perched upon a rock wall. She peered down into a break in the rock, a collection of three pokémon making their way through the channel no faster than snails. The path was wide enough for the krinar and kirlia to fit side-by-side, but Derino would certainly have had trouble beside another. He waddled gruffly between the two giant slabs of rock, clearly agitated as he had to sometimes turn so his belly and back were against the rock. The others did the same, although they had a considerably less difficult time doing so.

"Yeah, well, sometimes we need more convincing than we think we need!" shouted Etire, and Tarla only scoffed. It was like him to shift the blame.

"Mm, because of course, it's _my _duty to look after you when you purposely disregard my warning." She scowled. "How was it not clear to those glazed-over eyes of yours that this way was treacherous?"

"What other way was there? I saw none," retorted the krinar. He dragged the kirlia out the way of a falling rock and watched it shatter.

Tarla sneered at the very thought; she was partly glad that they hadn't agreed upon going the other way, but at the cost of time, she knew. "Underground."

"I'm afraid I have trouble seeing in the gloom," the kirlia replied delicately, her words drifting gently through the air to meet the flying and dragon type.

"We all do," Tarla clarified, her voice an unpolished stone in comparison.

"Quit your arguing," a voice of a forth pokémon grumbled from up ahead. "We can't change the path we're on. We already chose this, so use yer initiative and apply it to your surroundings now."

Tarla and Etire sighed, understanding he was correct, but obviously unwilling to believe so. The kirlia waited until Etire moved before following.

They wandered on for another while, and by the looks of things, Tarla assumed it would take them all day to weave between the right cracks and navigate their way out of the rocky maze—however, with her to guide, they would be able to make it through in at least half the time, and decided that they could be out by a few hours past midday. She constantly glared up at the sun, checking to ensure that she wasn't going to miscalculate. There was no place she couldn't see from above; her ability of flight proved to be a very helpful one.

A few times, they had been unsure about following her lead, and she had to fly partway into the distance to double check it was the correct path, but even then they were hesitant. When it happened again, they had come to a fork. The left was fairly straight, whereas the right path veered off at a sharp diagonal angle, rather than following the path forward. The trio below insisted that the right path to follow was the left one, as it trailed toward the right direction. Derino was adamant that the path to the right would lead them astray, and the frustration Tarla felt for the normal type welled time and again. The krinar was not much better—both were stubborn.

"Rantana," she called to the kirlia, fluttering down before the fork to address her personally. "If you're having trouble believing me, use your psychic abilities to confirm the truth."

The cream pokémon watched her with calm but innocent eyes. "I do not doubt your judgement." Tarla kept staring, unsure exactly what her answer was. "I have no reason to confirm your words because I already believe them true."

"Rentana," Etire began, on her left as he snatched her attention. Tarla frowned. "Everybody makes mistakes. It's normal that Tarla does, especially."

"Shut your little mouth, you twerp," hissed the altaria, her feathers looking to rise as she puffed herself up.

"What? Aren't I allowed to express my opinion?" he wondered aloud, his disapproving glance agitating her as it usually tended to do.

"Not when I can _see _the end of the _path _meeting up with the _rest _of the paths that lead to the correct location."

"And how long does the right path take if it bends and later rejoins with the "rest of the paths"?" he questioned, stance relaxed but easily mouldable.

The altaria seemed to contemplate her pride and reason as she moved her beak. She held the words back for as long as she could, well aware that her answer could define the final choice. "The turn takes up a lot of time that the left path doesn't," she quickly spilled, and he gave a smug smile and crossed his arms, as if he had won. "_But _the left path comes to a dead end. You can't _cross _through there, so all that "saved time" gets you nowhere!"

"I can if I break through the wall," he answered, far too sure of himself. He spoke casually, as if the words meant hardly anything. Tarla knew that he was going to have a positively difficult time doing something like that. Although she ached to see him try so she could jeer when he failed, she did not wish for these colony members to stray off track and waste time. It was also her pride at stake, which she was going to keep either way—except, of course, the krinar somehow managed to pierce the wall.

She sneered and looked to Rentana, who gave a tiny apologetic shrug. Derino crossed over behind Tarla to the path on the left. His ignorance inflated, as it often did, and he blundered blindly down the path. Tarla's cheeks rose in disbelief; she was almost disgusted.

"Where are you going? I_ told you_ to go the other way!" she yelled, clearly impatient as he continued.

"My eyes do not deceive me," he barked, angling his head up so his words would be most likely to rush to the place he targeted.

"Your eyes aren't the ones surveying the ground from the skies!" The granbull merely raised a thick purple paw, dismissing her claims and anything else she tried to get across. "But that's not the right path," she exclaimed again, and turned furiously to the krinar as he snorted in amusement.

"Nah, you're correct," he began, starting off after Derino. "It's not the _right _path." Rentana followed slowly, looking tired. When the krinar was a few steps in, he turned around to finish his sentence, smirking. "It's the left path."

In a fury, the altaria fired a dragonbreath down the channel, momentarily heedless of the possibility that she could have instead hit the kirlia. When it reached not even her, Tarla bit down, the pressure of her beak marginally unsettling. She took off, beating the air with powerful strokes and rose in a considerably short time. Her anger swirled in her mind, and she wondered why in the world she came if her own party members, the pokémon obliged to trust and listen to her, couldn't even believe her words. Etire was too cocky, Derino too stubborn and Rentana too flimsy. The combination was fatal when pitted against one who opposed their views.

Hissing in response to the aggravating situation, she powered forward, racing past her fellow colony pokémon in the blink of an eye to verify that the end of the path led to where she knew it did. A dead end. She wanted to once again analyse it for herself, and she knew that if she did, maybe she could convince them. After all, she was the one looking at it from above, and obviously knew more about the situation and the settings than the others; however, that hadn't stopped them from overruling her judgement before. Nevertheless, it was worth a try, even if she didn't believe that they would come to listen at all. _'Aemara would have listened to me,'_ she thought bitterly, resting her thoughts on her closest friend to seek some kind of comfort.

She began to miss her company after a number of days without seeing her, and she found herself wishing she could have come. The ghost and ice type could have levitated over the smaller rock ledges to rise higher and eventually cross across the top of the rock. She not only would have been a faster traveller, but also more efficient and wouldn't waste time or effort derailing because she, in light of better judgement, was not foolish enough to imagine she had more knowledge than Tarla of the correct direction.

Her eyes fell upon the mountain ahead once more, unsure if its closeness was a good or a negative thing. It was both, she guessed, in their own ways. As well as all the hurt she felt from the banishment, she also treasured wonderful memories of a mountain very close by that helped provide her with refuge and a new people to start life over in the company of.

She cast an eye down on the rock below, watching it slowly trudge by as she approached the end of the path in which the party was soon to walk. Upon arrival, she fluttered her wings and descended, dropping to the edge of the rock wall to peer ahead. The trail came to an opening, sort of like a roofless room that was barred by rock walls. A small path branched off to the side of the area, but only continued for a few metres before it, too, was blocked off by rock. She found herself remembering that she was right, and that Etire and his cocky attitude were wrong. Him and Derino—the two males were useless when it came to listening to others, and in Etire's case, especially to females. The only female he listened properly to was Rentana, but even then it was only because they were mated and he valued her opinion.

"His extensive self-assurance is his undoing," she muttered to herself, sure that one day his attitude would get him in serious trouble. It was the same with Derino's stubbornness. She suddenly felt grateful that Hunter, his son, was not without external influences. Any chance to take after his father was best tempered by others.

The party of three arrived within the following ten minutes, and as they came closer, the granbull's face remained hardened and unchangeable, while the krinar was still overflowing with confidence, even when his eyes ran the height of the wall. He seemed unsure of himself for but a moment before returning to his confident state, and she raised a feathered brow, wondering if he had doubted himself at first.

She didn't speak as they spilled into the area and ran their proud gazes along the wall. The two males wandered partway down the path to the side before meeting a dead end, despite being able to clearly see without taking the short cut into the rock, and pressed limbs against the walls to test their durability. Etire avoided Tarla's supercilious gaze as he continued prodding the wall, moving out of the small path and testing the other sides.

"Will you just admit it already?" Tarla persisted, bemused by their useless attempts. "You didn't listen to me and I was right. In effect, that means you were _wrong_." The ralts evolution just glared at her, not intent on having his precious pride wounded, it seemed. His eyes were marginally concerned and growing with frustration.

"I told you that we can break through," the krinar protested whist trying to convince himself, running a clawed hand down the surface of the rock. Tiny crumbs of stone broke off as he went, pattering on the earthen floor. He was doubting the possibility, but refused to give up before he started.

The altaria scoffed, half in annoyance and half in amusement, and ruffled her feathers before settling comfortably down, watching as he once again tested the rock with short slams of his fists and legs, and did something similar three more following times, as if contemplating. "Praising the wall won't help you break through it," she teased, and he stopped stroking it, obviously aware of his actions and how they were similar to stroking a young child's head when they did well after completing a task.

"It's called testing the surface I'm going to smash."

"Testing?" she jeered again, a single eye on him as he looked up with a haughty frown. "You've been _testing _it for quite a few turns now, haven't you? I think the rock has been using iron defence each time you attack with a stroke."

"Look who the funny one is now," he growled with the tiniest bit of accompanying mockery.

Tarla shrugged, quite enjoying what she got to do to him. "I have a talent for it." The altaria stretched out a fluffy wing and began to preen a few of her cloudy feathers. "Faltering is the first sign of failure," she told him half-attentively. "I think you should reschedule a time with the rock. Clearly you're too busy procrastinating to actually make a move. I think the rock won the battle."

Instead of exploding with anger, the krinar stood, absorbing her words as he inhaled, and exhaled with a small smile of acknowledged defeat. He shook his head to himself and focused back to the rock, heedless of the kirlia behind him.

Derino was marching back and forth, attempting to find some fault in the rock's composition for a way to break through. Tarla understood that it wasn't so much pride for the normal type, but simply an inability to acknowledge that he was wrong. He would keep looking for an opening simply because he was oblivious to the fact that the way he chose could have been incorrect.

A good ten minutes passed, and in that time the dragon type managed to keep her beak shut for the most part. She watched between preening as the two pokémon below her, as the kirlia also stood watching, searched for weak points in the rock. It was unlikely that they would encounter any, she knew, but they looked anyway.

"It seems you have a little issue," the altaria called softly from the cliff, stopping her task to look at the krinar. Derino was hardly paying attention. Etire enquired with his eyes what she was talking about. "Someone told you to go one way, and you went another! Preposterous that she was right and you were wrong, isn't it? It's astounding that the great Etire was...wrong!" She cocked her head back and grinned greasily, more than happy to be in her position. The feeling of annoyance and wasting time hardly entered her mind as she revelled in the power she held. "And your plan doesn't seem to be working."

"Oh, come on," he whined, clearly unsatisfied with defeat. "Can it, would you? You've milked this situation as if it was a bloated miltank. You don't have to keep rubbing it in."

"I'm sorry. I thought I heard someone whining. Was that you?"

The psychic and fighting type drove a hand to his forehead and stared with drooped shoulders at the wall in front of him. For the first time, he admitted its density and began to doubt his ability to break through. He took a look at the altaria above and shook his head in defiance, reluctant to allow her the satisfaction of a complete victory. He knew he had calculated wrongly and made a foolish decision, but his regret was not strong enough to overcome his pride.

He focused his energy, breathing in as he tried to imagine a sudden outbreak of punches and kicks on his behalf. He tensed his claws, pressing them together as he tried to build up strength. He had no idea if his technique would work or how effective it would be, but he stood with a mind narrowed to focus on his task. He had to focus solely on the wall before him to leave a proper mark. He would have to block everything out and round up all his attention, then place it in front of where he stood so he was able to carry out the desired combination of movements. He again inhaled and exhaled, moving his shoulder joins around in rolls before opening his eyes.

It was then that he saw Tarla and her arrogant grin.

"No," he hissed to himself, tearing away from her and shaking his head. _'This is not working,' _he told himself agitatedly, hesitant to admit such a thing to himself. He needed to be focused in order for anything to work, and telling himself that he wasn't was defining a path to failure.

Without bothering to try again, he rotated his body quickly so he was side-on, took a firm step and extended his arm quickly like a spring before it rammed into the wall. Small fragments broke off and crumbled to the ground, a small dent in the wall. At first, for a split second, he was happy. However, he realised again how tiny the mark was, especially in the vastness of the wall. And then again as he thought of its width. Etire sighed, nearly ready to give up before he even started.

"Well, go on," Tarla teased, baiting him. "I'm waiting for the wall to suddenly _collapse_." She emphasised her last word with a heavy implication that it was ridiculous as she stood up to shake, then proceeded to sit, her fluffy wings spilling over the edge.

He gave a tiny sneer, trying not to lose his cool, and turned to Derino. The lavender pokémon was searching back and forth, still unsure where to anticipate a break in the rock. The krinar found it marginally agitating, as he wasn't doing anything to help, and shook his head brusquely. He tried not to focus on it as he turned his attention back to the wall and released a cry, not caring that he hadn't bothered to charge up as he dealt a focus punch.

He was not expecting a sudden head to emerge from underneath him, feeling an instant pain as it rammed into him, accompanied by rocks and dirt. He stumbled away, collapsing with the temporary surprise. "What the—?!" he started to say, but his own shock cut him off. The kirlia noticed, darting to the spot where the krinar had been standing before the pokémon who had attacked disappeared down a tiny opening. Some of the dirt caved into the hole and covered part of it up.

Tarla watched from above, suddenly shocked, and quickly flew down from her perch, approaching Etire as Rentana did so as well. "Etire?" the kirlia asked with interest. The pokémon moaned and sat up, giving his head a quick shake as he got to his feet. He blinked a few time and looked around, expecting to see some kind of large opponent, even if what had struck him was little.

"Where is it?" he demanded, and Rentana looked at him with curiosity. Her tender expression clearly opposed the ruggedness of her mate, and she gave the shadow of a smile, which was accompanied by a layer of concern.

"It was a diglett," she told him, and he furrowed his brow, wondering how something so tiny could have knocked him off his feet. "Are you injured?" she asked softly, and he gave an appreciative smile, shaking his head slowly.

"It'll wear off," he reassured, and moved past her toward the small hole. "I didn't know the ground was even soft enough to dig through." He kicked the side of the hole with his foot, expecting part to crumble off, but it hardly seemed to budge. He gave it a frown and snorted, uninterested.

Tarla, although just to herself, uttered a few chuckles. "A diglett."

The three of them turned as they heard solid marching and saw Derino approaching the opening in the earth. He glared down at it with disapproval, even if he didn't yet know what it was he was disapproving, and his heavy brow clouded his face with a pretty stiff frown. "What is going on here?" He could clearly see the hole, but apparently was not making the connection between it and the marginally injured state of his fellow colony member

"There was an attack," Rentana pointed out quite seriously, and the others looked to Derino.

He drew back, interlacing his arms and peering down before angling his torso forward to inspect the hole. In response, another diglett emerged from the hole with blinding speed and head-butted his chin, startling him backward and causing him to topple to the ground with the force. The mole-like pokémon ducked into the hole again and they heard distant dirt excavation until it faded.

The three stood completely still, unsure what to make of the situation. Tarla took to the sky, fluttering up to her cliff perch to peer down and inspect the area.

"Be...very...careful," Etire warned, and although Derino shot up defiantly, the kirlia began to move slowly, her form graceful even when trying to avoid danger. She held her mate's eyes for a time, unblinking as they waited for something to happen. It was true that it was only diglett they were facing, but the surprise of the attacks was the main thing.

After a good five minutes of no activity from below, the three on ground were somewhat sure that there were no other pokémon around who planned to attack. Etire was quite confident that he could break the wall now, with the intruders out the way, and began to focus once again. The others relaxed and Derino went back to what he was doing, the kirlia simply watching as she had before.

Etire aimed at the wall and smashed his fists into it again, creating a larger ditch this time. He smiled at the effect and regretted the effort the attack took; when he again thought of how thick Tarla said the wall was, he cringed. He didn't know how much longer he could keep his attacks up, and the reminder that such a big effort had only created a tiny mark was not at all comforting.

Focusing once more, he aimed to increase his form by tensing his muscles, feeling the strain in his arms and legs as he contracted them as tightly as he possibly could. He imagined muscle inflation, and his thoughts became somewhat of a reality as he released, feeling stronger and more solid. He had always liked bulk up for the very reason that it was easy to use and didn't require much energy.

Drawing his attention to the wall before him, he resorted to using an attack that he thought he may not have had to use. It was not comforting to know that his fighting abilities outside of actual battling moves were not very strong; he was supposed to be a fighting type, and his training was not light. He was always striving to be better and hated when obstructions such as the wall of rock before him prevented his growth.

Exhaling to empty his lungs, he kept himself breathless for a number of seconds, feeling the weight of his belly as he plugged his airflow. Suddenly he released, opening his eyes and breathing swiftly in, and then launched himself forward, leaping for added momentum and drawing back his right arm before slinging it into the rock. The effect was grand; a large split appeared in the rock, spanning out in multiple directions and continued to increase. The section before him, at least as tall and wide as his body, crumbled and detached from the wall around it, tumbling sadly from a previous habitat to make way for whoever had removed it. Etire smiled proudly and watched as other sections of the wall gave way, if only a little bit. He cradled his right wrist in his left hand, waiting for the pulsing to stop before he recomposed himself and went for another bulk up attack.

Rentana, standing back from her mate and somewhere near the hole, watched with concern. She knew that the reason the diglett appeared was because he was destroying the wall, which she was less than comfortable with. As she watched, she noticed that her mate had looked to grow even stronger upon boosting his confidence and physical strength, and she curled her bottom and top lips into her mouth, holding them against themselves with her teeth. She began to flick to the opening in the ground, expecting another diglett to appear from the ground and attack again, and when a significant time had passed and none came, she didn't know what to think. However, she did know that she had to warn the krinar about his destruction and the results that may come, and she decided now was the perfect time.

She darted forward in a leaping fashion. "Etire," she began, catching his attention while he had his eyes closed.

He took a moment to reply with, "Yes, my sweet?"

She ignored his use of a pet name. "I think the diglett appeared because their wall was being threatened."

The krinar opened his eyes and looked at her, putting aside any previous focus he had gathered. "Nonsense. They were probably just playing around." He rolled a shoulder in its joint and cracked his neck to one side. "What would they want with an ol' wall, anyway?" he asked sceptically, gesturing to its massive expanse as he shrugged.

"It's part of their territory," she reminded him, and he seemed to consider her statement for a mere moment before dismissing it with a noise and a bat of his hand.

"Ehh, they won't miss it." He looked back to it, a small chuckle starting up in his chest. "Heh, what, so they live inside the wall or something?" Rentana gave an unimpressed cringe as her mate neared the wall and harnessed his cockiness, tapping his clawed hand against the rock. "Hey! Anybody home?" When nothing happened, he gave a dirty grin and his mate inclined her neck a little, preserving dignity as she watched his childishness. He shrugged off her reaction and turned back to the wall, knocking again. "I can't hea—"

Part of the rock inexplicably extended forward and collided with the krinar's jaw. The psychic and fighting pokémon was thrust backward, stumbling over his feet and colliding with the ground in no time. Rentana watched, shocked, as did Tarla. The latter took longer to realise what was happening after she pulled her head from her wing while preening.

"What just happened?!" demanded the altaria with minor urgency, inspecting the scene briefly before part of the wall dislodged and crashed to the ground in a solid thump. The chunk that had supposedly "punched" the krinar was differently coloured to the rest of the rock; in contrast to an ecru, russet and copper, it was a darker shade of grey. The sight of a moving rock surprised her to the point of confusion before she realised that it was a pokémon—a geodude.

Giving them no time to think, the wall from Derino's side suddenly caved after muffled roars, and he turned with a surprised grunt to find rock spraying in multiple directions, bouncing off the channel walls and some striking his body. Rentana calculated their range and twirled out the way of each one that managed to reach her, and in their wake was a number of thundering pokémon the colour of the geodude all trampling their way down the path with recklessness that clearly conveyed their rage.

Tarla's eyes widened instantly and she whipped her head to Etire, her eyes sharp as he watched on.

"What have you _done_?!"


	27. Chapter 27: Attracting the Wrong Crowd

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Attracting the Wrong Crowd**

The rhyhorn hooted and roared, pounding the ground with each hefty step. The sound of rock meeting rock was the only thing the party of four could hear as they watched with a sick feeling as they were ambushed, more geodude erupting from the wall as diglett began to spring up underneath them and began aiming for each of them but Tarla. She watched on with horror as she realised that she was weak to any rock type; all of her flying type moves would simply rebound and leave them unscathed, and she wasn't sure that her dragon moves would be much better. She knew there was no running, however, and tried to cast the doubt aside for the moment. First she wanted to see how things turned out.

Some of the rhyhorn, still shouting and howling with rage, had startled Derino, who had been just far enough away from the wall to turn at the last moment and avoid them as they charged through. The last through to emerge from the smashed wall spotted the granbull and skidded and pivoted, rounding in a small semi-circle to tear through the ground towards him. The granbull looked to have no problem holding his confidence, as he still stood taller than them, and braced himself, a defiant look of aggression twisting between his features.

Tarla watched in angst as she saw the others in similar situations; Rentana was fending off two geodude while twirling and bounding to avoid being sprung by a diglett who insisted on popping up beneath her toes. Her attempt to keep herself safe looked as a delicate dance would; the tiniest loss of concentration would result horribly, so she needed to keep her focus.

Etire, however, was fighting tactlessly as three rhyhorn powered toward him, their rage not looking to subside anytime soon as they charged forward, one of them advancing faster. The krinar powered up a mach punch and leapt to the side as he passed, unleashing the thrust of his arm on the rhyhorn's side with timing that looked so unlikely that Tarla concluded that it must have been a fluke. Whether or not it was, he was still able to defend himself.

It didn't take long before he was also set on by the other geodude, who began to disperse and divide between him and Derino. A few pokémon had noticed Tarla, and a duo of geodude were grunting and pointing up at her, anger filling their faces as they realised that they had no means of reaching the cliff.

The rhyhorn didn't seem to care, however; they wanted to punish whoever was in range, and as the altaria peered upon the scene, she wondered why they were doing it at all. She could only come to the conclusion that it was Etire's recklessness and destructive ways with the wall, but even then he wasn't doing much damage. It was possible that these pokémon were fiercely protective of their home, and any destruction was considered taboo. She could understand that; however, she couldn't understand why her foolish colony mates hadn't listened to her in the first place. She _knew _she was right, and there was no way that the direction in which they went could have been the correct one, and yet everybody insisted on going in the opposite direction. She found it not only insulting, but also quite—

The altaria was knocked from her post as a diglett erupted from beneath her with such force that she lost her stability and toppled down from the cliff. She was momentarily baffled, but regained her balance as she began to furiously flap her wings, her body twisting around so she was no longer with her back to the ground. As she did so, she had caught a brief glimpse of the pokémon who had attacked her.

Sudden pain met her from underneath as she felt a rock split on her belly, the fragments scraping her skin in but a moment before spraying in assorted directions, bouncing off walls and littering the ground. She stared with fearful surprise as she lost her ability to breathe, her focus on flying vanishing as she plummeted. It came to her partway down that she needed to continue to beat her wings, even if she was out of breath. The attempt was hardly effective, however, as they failed to budge at all.

Panic's mighty hand gripped her abdomen, sliding to her neck while she was still unable to breathe. She was drawing dangerously close to the ground, realising that the geodude were staring up with expectancy and hunger for fulfilling duty. Another held a tiny platform of rock, and she knew that the one with empty hands had thrust the rock up at her as she had been falling.

To her expectation, the other geodude failed to hesitate before catapulting the rock her way, and it separated under force and with speed once it smashed into her underside; she barely had time to angle her head away and bind her eyelids together before the force sent her veering to the side to land without cushioning on the solid ground.

Rentana, right nearby and staring in shock, averted her eyes to the crumpled mess of her comrade, watching in relative anguish as she realised that her friend was resistant to any ground type, but weaker than anything else to the splitting force of rock. The distraction caught her off guard, and she was too late to weave to the side as a hefty stone was launched at her face. It struck her cheek and sent her backwards, causing her to stumble while waving her arms until she crashed into the wall behind her in a groaning daze.

The krinar witnessed the scene and fired up with rage, charging a useful brick break to smash the rhyhorn with, unfortunately only hitting one as the other avoided it with but a quarter-second to spare. The pokémon sustained heavy damage and was flung back, and once it was out of his path, he looked up to quickly survey his mate's predicament.

While his back was turned, the first rhyhorn he had seen skidded out the way, swiped a foot along the ground and raced toward his target, ramming the krinar's back and causing him to spiral forward and into the ground, a rough landing scuffing his skin. He cried out in discomfort and tried to get to his feet, but a well-timed diglett punctured the earth's surface as she slammed into Etire from below, throwing him upwards before he landed on his side again and into the compact earth. Pain shot through his side as he watched a geodude approach with an unsuspected bounce and drew a powerful arm back, watching it recoil and bounce back to spring forward his way. The krinar rolled out the way with a shove of the ground, the rock type's fist jamming into the earth and creating a notable split.

A second geodude who he previously hadn't noticed was curled into a boulder, and began to speed his way with arms tucked and intent clearly set. He groaned and charged up, remembering his bulk up attack and applying concentration to strengthen his arms before backing up against a wall and thrusting his elongated, pointed elbows that continued on like spikes into the rocky mass behind him. The surprise made him cringe, as generally he wouldn't have used his elbow to penetrate anything, notably rock, and took an even greater risk as he hoisted himself off the ground, leaning back while relying on the strength of his lodged elbows, and ignored the pain as he bent his legs into his chest.

He noticed the rhyhorn whirling around to aim for him again, but his primary focus was the rolling geodude, who, when was quickly within reach, Etire launched his feet at. He hoped it was timed right and chanted in silent success to himself as the force of the launch and crash sent the geodude spinning through the air, the pokémon uncurling halfway, and smashing through a wall, leaving a decent crater as debris flung onto the nearby foes.

Etire flicked his head to his mate, observing her condition for a fragment of a second before yanking his elbows out of the wall and proceeding toward her with solid ambition. He heard a trampling sound and realised all too late that a rhyhorn was on his tail and rammed into him, his back exploding with a burst of pain as he was swept up onto the rhyhorn and was carried forward in the pokémon's consistent attack, advancing toward Rentana and her surrounding geodude attackers. She had one of them in her grip, his writhing body telling the krinar that she was manipulating his brain in a mental onslaught.

She was forced to cut off her attack as the other geodude launched himself at her, preparing to buckle her knees with a ruthless punch. She was completely aware of his attack, however, and disappeared. Etire, whilst riding toward her, cringed in disbelief before she appeared behind her attacker and attacked him instead, seemingly oblivious to the oncoming rhyhorn.

Her teleportation had taken her closer to the charging enemy, and the krinar realised that if they didn't change course or she didn't move, it would end badly. "Stop!" he called to the rhyhorn, his voice raspy before he cleared his throat. The pokémon looked either not interested or apparently deaf as they continued toward Rentana without a change in pace. However, the psychic and fighting pokémon persisted and shouted at the rock type again, his body too weak from the shock of the attack to do much else. In desperation he tried to focus his voice ahead, shouting the kirlia's name instead.

However, her mind was completely focused on the confusion attack she was inflicting upon the geodude, her other senses muted as she focused. With a knowing groan of urgent annoyance, the krinar watched painfully as they finally collided with her, the delicate pokémon's body flinging up beside the krinar. She emitted a screech at the shock and the presumable pain and glanced quickly to Etire, who was panicked as he looked on ahead. The charging ended when they smashed into the wall, the krinar's body crushing against the rock with a shocking pain he had never before known.

A ripping cry erupted from his mouth as the lower part of the wall began to crumble, the force of the charge having destroyed some of its composition. Absolute pain filled his thoughts as his body seemed to scream instantly in every place, the rugged rocky texture digging into his skin as he was continuously pushed, causing small red droplets to dot the rock. The rhyhorn ceased applying pressure and retreated backwards and out of the impressive alcove now in the wall, the krinar's body flopping against the ground like as if it was a bundle of skin containing not a single bone.

The kirlia, who was on the ground after she rolled over herself off the rhyhorn's head armour, witnessed nothing up until the cry, which she had promptly averted her attention to, cutting all connections with her other surroundings. As she witnessed the fall of her mate, she shrieked in dismay, scrambling to her feet and noticing a duo of geodude coming her way. She teleported over to the collapsed krinar, the fire in her chest heating progressively as she redefined how serious the situation was. He was completely crushed, just about, and her first thought was a desperate question regarding his life. She was reluctant to accept that he would perish from something like this, but couldn't know for sure as she cradled his head in her lap, trying to bar off the danger around her.

The stomping of two rhyhorn rumbled nearby, and she watched in familiar horror as Tarla, who had been pinned against the wall by three geodude, struggled to defend herself at all. She had noticed her friend's predicament shortly before she was attacked, but with Etire in such a critically vulnerable state, she was unsure if she could attend to both. She suddenly wished that she and her comrades had been better prepared and brought more pokémon with them, especially one that could counter their weaknesses. Any extra help would have been cherished, for they were outnumbered three to one.

Focusing with whatever remaining concentration she could muster, the pokémon shifted a collection of mentally-transported leaves from an unseen tree within the radius of her abilities and fired them with a burst of mental application, her eyes lighting up with ferocity she was entirely unfamiliar to. The leaves soared toward Tarla's attackers and sliced around one of the geodude, hearing a cry of pain as he collapsed, and the altaria snapped in the direction of her saviour, one of her wings instantly free as another two held the rest of her in place. A rhyhorn was ready to charge as one of the geodude rammed his fist into the wall, causing rock slides and specifically aimed stone to tumble down and crash onto her from above. Upon the distraction, the geodude lost their focus and turned, spotting the crippled krinar in the desperate clutches of the female, and the rhyhorn departed to focus his attention to her instead.

The geodude attempted to continue their assault, but the altaria screeched, holding her neck straight as she faced the sky before angling her head back to the first geodude, releasing a dragonbreath that crackled around him, then switching to the other as the first one let go.

She worked the change of freedom to take wing, despite the horrifying pain that burst from within her muscles, and she cringed, the realisation dawning on her that she was unable to keep up any sort of hovering or proper flight. She turned, making for the cliff edge again as another rock was fired at her. She heard the effort produced by the geodude and tried to bat her wings at it in an effort to force it off course with wind, but it was ineffective; she was lucky that she managed to avoid it without the help of her useless wind currents.

The pokémon leapt through the air, giving herself a few powerful, painful strokes as she plunged onto the cliff edge, perching at just the right angle to wobble and then steady herself, hopping properly onto the top of the wide-stretching wall. She took a momentary breath before turning around and surveying the scene, the two geodude still focusing their attention on her and rocketing boulders her way.

As she avoided the bombardment, she noticed Derino off to her right and Rentana to her left, as she fended off what she could, all while projecting a protective shield around her and her mate that she had erected about a metre before them as she tried to keep as much distance as she could. By the looks of her weak attacks, she was unable to do little more than cut into one of their minds at a time, probably dealing pain only equal to that of a small headache, which hindered them little if at all.

The granbull's efforts were quite effective; Tarla noticed that he didn't dodge once, but instead blocked attacks, holding large boulders which had detached from the wall, and countered when he could with a punch to the wall and a rock slide of his own, which often pushed the one geodude back, but merely pattered the pair of rhyhorn he faced. Instead, they were often victim to an ice punch, something that she knew he had learned from Aemara, whose powers did not lie with physical damage, but her knowledge of iciness was passed onto him and interpreted to suit his style. Similarly, she often shared her ghostly knowledge with others, and Tarla only wished that she was capable of learning anything from her, whether it was shadow ball or confuse ray, or maybe even an ice type move.

Figuring it was more effective to take action than merely think, she took a breath and remembered a small tune she knew, and felt her lungs inflate before she opened her beak and released the first few notes of a lullaby. The song was somewhat quiet to begin with, but quickly grew in audacity and filled the area enclosed in rock down below, each pokémon ceasing their attacks and looking about to find the source of the noise. Roars of protest rippled through the air, but the altaria focused, determined not to allow room for failure.

The notes of the song wavered across the battlefield, the rock and ground types displaying their obvious confusion as they looked about, their eyelids beginning to fall over their eyeballs. The only pokémon she could see that took the initiative to block their ears was Derino, who looked to be focusing on something entirely different as he didn't even bother watching the scene.

The geodude grunted with slurred sounds as their arms began to lower, unable to command their heavy bodies to move anywhere as drowsiness overcame them. The rhyhorn began to waver, some flicking their heads defiantly and taking a number of steps forward. Those that did collapsed when they applied pressure to their legs with each step, and some tilted forward, stopping when their heads met the packed earth, their back halves poking into the air. The others leaned to the left or right and collided with the ground, the sound of rock meeting rock clashing to Tarla's ears.

She continued the song, watching awkwardly from her angle as, from under a jutting ledge, the kirlia attempted to blink herself awake, highly reluctant to enter any kind of slumber.

Another few seconds passed and the remainder of the wild pokémon slipped from consciousness, they collapsed onto the ground while their pupils disappeared behind eyelids. Geodude let their arms fall and crash into the ground and rhyhorn grazed ground with their armour. Only the diglett escaped, but Tarla wasn't deterred. They would likely not return after the rest of their teammates were seen snoozing; if they did return, they would be severely outmatched and overpowered by her and the others.

Finally closing her beak, she glanced around to admire her handiwork, glad that she could accomplish something worthwhile. After confirming again that she was safe, she drifted down from the ledge, planting her feet onto the rocky ground and remaining still for a moment, still unsure about the danger. She didn't want a geodude to suddenly sprout from the side of a wall and launch a bounder at her, so she surveyed her surroundings carefully.

Consistent movement continued from the corner of her eye as she scanned the rest of the area, spotting Derino during her scan, and watched as he was relatively unaffected. He stalked her way, also suspicious and casting wary glances left and right as he approached. She verified that he was awake and would remain so, and turned back to the movement, approaching a struggling Rentana, who had let down her barrier. She gripped her mate, head dropping frequently, only to shoot back up again. She gritted her teeth and tried lightly to shake the krinar awake, but with little effect.

Tarla moved silently toward her, and the psychic type looked to her with perplexity in her eyes, which she fought to keep open. Tarla's face was suddenly transformed into one of sympathy and she continued to watch, her beak forming the faintest of smiles. She considered the futile efforts of her fellow colony member; her beak showed admiration for how she fought to cling to the bit of consciousness she refused to relinquish, but her eyes displayed sadness. She could picture the scene as some kind of end to a fatal battle, had the opposing two been against them. However, she snapped out of that and moved closer, peering down at Etire across from Rentana.

"How is he?" she asked a little lighter than she would like have liked.

The psychic pokémon blinked furiously, applying pressure to each blink in some kind of effort to wake herself up and banish the tiredness. "Yes," she muttered. However, she took a moment to realise she hadn't answered properly and fixed her words. "He's tired."

Tarla knew she was talking about herself, but the statement could be applied to him as well, given the effort he exerted and the damage he sustained. "How injured is he? Will he...?" She restrained from using any word that would relate to death for her friend's sake, but even in her sleepy state, she picked up on the hidden word an gave a somewhat bewildered expression of shock and disgust.

"He's going to live," she exclaimed, more of a demand than the result of an analysis.

"We need to treat some of those wounds," Tarla explained carefully, her voice steady as she looked the kirlia in the eyes. She could clearly see that she was not herself. She acknowledged Derino's presence behind her, watching his looming shadow cast itself partway onto Etire.

"I can't...heal him," the kirlia forced out, her jaw lazy but quite stiff.

"Nobody asked you to heal him," she responded gently, taking a breath. "Rentana, you need to sleep. You can't keep yourself awake; you'll drop as soon as we start moving." The opposing pokémon just stared at something past the altaria, her expression pained and reluctant, as if she were angry and about to burst into tears. She rocked, her body tilting forward and her head following in little jerks as she tried to control it, correcting her balance if she leaned too much. As a result she was constantly moving, and Tarla knew that she was not going to be able to keep it up for any longer.

"No," she firmly responded through gritted teeth, her lips parting in a sneer. "I can't fall...asleep."

The altaria closed her eyes momentarily to take a breath, but opened them again once realising that the kirlia may have thought it an act to encourage the same action. "It's okay if you sleep. Just look at you. You can't keep your eyes open for more than three seconds at a time. Your head's drooping like a wilted flower." She glanced up to the granbull beside her, a serious expression still etched into his brow. "If you do sleep, Derino will have no problem carrying you over his shoulder and Etire over the other. He's strong; he can handle it."

She could see that the kirlia was reluctant and nearly tried arguing again, but was clearly unable to devise an appropriate response that would help her position at all. Tarla knew that she was sensible and would likely adhere to what was practical, as she usually did.

After helping the psychic type up, she remained on the tips of her toes, as all kirlia did, and tried to maintain her balance. Tarla placed her head under Etire's and raised it, angling him up as she supported his upper back. The granbull took a pace and lifted the pokémon onto his left shoulder with relative ease, appearing unburdened as he turned around and began to make his way back down the path they had taken to arrive.

The flying type turned to Rentana, who looked to be somewhat more alert, and double-checked that she was alright before watching her pace with specific concentration. Tarla took to the skies in a single aimed stroke of her two wings and launching herself skyward and began to glance about. She could clearly see their battlefield from above, which looked like quite a small space, and realised that it wasn't actually all that large, as she had already concluded while still on the ground anyway.

She ascended, the wind aiding her rise, and soon she became high enough to see the majority of land for leagues to come, although not at all in detail. The path that her fellow colony members were going to take was certainly the right one. She felt herself shiver with relief at the thought of her friends, if they too deemed her such, finally being on the correct path. The fact that they had ignored her before was not only frustrating, but frightening, and she genuinely hoped they would trust her enough to listen in the future.

From above she watched as Derino, clearly taking the lead, came to a halt. She had no cause to question his actions as she saw a figure in front of him, one that had appeared from nowhere. She felt her heart begin to beat a little faster again. She neared the scene, noticing that it was a diglett. All fear subsided, and she smiled with newfound relief, questioning herself with amusement as to how she could have found _that _something to be worried about. She noticed a few more pop up, but knew they would be no match for her, Derino and Rentana. She didn't bet on the kirlia being able to fight, but even so, two stronger pokémon could easily outmatch those puny diglett.

Nearing the ground, the flying type aimed for the top of one of the cliff walls to the side of her colony mates. She perched on the right one, surveying the scene only a few metres before her from above. The diglett disappeared and she gave a satisfied smile, but was suddenly shocked when Rentana tripped up and fell, remaining on the ground. She fluttered down behind her, her back to the area in which her drowsiness had started, and nudged her a few times, concluding that she had finally given in to sleep. She assumed that it was because she could relax once she knew Etire was safe, as her protection of him had been her reason to keep herself awake in the first place.

"Derino," she began with a small amount of amusement in her tone, "Rentana's collapsed with sleepiness."

The granbull whirled around, at first a fairly reasonable expression upon his hardened face. In a moment of confusion, Tarla frowned as the normal type's expression morphed into one of complete alarm, his brow making way for large eyes. The altaria had never seen him so expressive, and was about to question him when she heard something behind her. She froze, then whirled around, only to see something dangerously close before it slammed into her body. A small horn drove itself into her somewhere as the rest of her was carried backwards, thankfully missing the unconscious Rentana. Tarla was unable to do a thing, her body having completely locked up with the impossibility of movement as she was driven through the pass.

Derino was quick to brace himself as he dipped his shoulder and rested the krinar against one of the rock walls, and suddenly was unsure what to do. He could easily have stopped the charging rhyhorn had the altaria not been glued to his front, but because she was there was nowhere he could grab. He was forced to step aside as the pokémon raced blindly through, and trusted the bird pokémon to save herself as he spotted, with increasing urgency, the kirlia's unconscious body under the curious stare of a geodude.

He unleashed a bark-like roar, the viciousness from his maw rippling to those around him before he charged forward and tensed his arm muscles in preparation for an ice punch, the crystals already forming on his paw as he felt the sting of significantly unfamiliar coldness spread through his veins.

The geodude was startled and hopped out the way, another two sending boulders Derino's way. He made an effort to duck, and although one soared over his head, one tripped him up and sent him tumbling across the ground, only to get up again in a roll and strike the ground beside the kirlia. The floor frosted over, the ice hardening immediately as the backsplash of pointed stalagmite-like icicles sprung up in a few directions, creating a miniature wall, or at least a warning for those who neared. The increasing group of waking pokémon began to pile up at the entrance to the path marked by the two surrounding walls that closed them in, dismissing themselves from the battlefield to form a building army.

Derino's anxiety helped sculpt the thought that they were completely and totally outmatched. He had no idea how they were going to overcome these pokémon's forces, and on top of that, he didn't know how he was going to be able to protect the two unconscious psychic types. His mind ticked, the time to think up possibilities fleeting as more ground and rock types began to bleed onto the path.

Thinking up something quickly, the granbull braced himself and focused for a mere moment, feeling his muscles harden once again as he angled himself behind the kirlia, so she and the small ice wall were between him and the wild pokémon, and struck the wall with uncontrolled force from his angle, launching boulders and smaller rocks their way as they broke from the wall upon contact.

He knew that they wouldn't cause any damage, but took the distraction as a chance for him to gather more iciness in his arm, quickly grasping the kirlia's arms and dragging her as far away from them as he could in a short space of time, before racing back and aiming to plunge his fist at the rock types in a direct attack. He understood that creating a wall of ice that would stop them, or even slow them down for a significant period, would take an ice type's experience, but that clearly wasn't an option for him, and he figured that, ice type or not, he was able to manipulate an element that his enemies were weak to. He wasn't going to waste that opportunity.

The rhyhorn continued to charge, the pain repeating itself as Tarla was still being carried along, and she realise just how far it was from the next wall, the one that marked the end of the path as it stretched further and then bent to the left, in the direction she had originally intended to go, and the beast was stupid enough not to turn and pin her against one of the side walls.

Using this to her advantage, she began to screech, and then gathered herself to sing a shaky and wrongly-pitched lullaby once again. The rhyhorn grunted in protest and, clearly choosing the release of his prisoner over falling asleep again, shook her free, slowing to a stop before whirling around. By that time, the altaria had already taken wing, and she hovered in the air before a rock narrowly missed her, whizzing past. She frowned and descended, avoiding the pokémon's continuous stream of rocks. The dual type felt a little distressed as she launched a dragonbreath attack in the rock type's face, and she could see that she was not fond of it whatsoever.

Before she could give her time to react, she took wing again and quickly made her way to Derino, who was heavily outmatched as he struggled to drive them back at all. They were level with the ice wall, and a geodude began to smash the icicles. The dragon and flying type soared through the air, levelling her neck and sneering with disgust before she dove down. Some of the rock types notified others of her presence as they began firing things at her, and she beat the air, jolting to one side as a rock missed her by only a feather. The rest were relatively aimless, giving her the time and space she needed to unleash a dragonbreath upon the entire crowd as she passed from the front. She ensured that she hit the pokémon closest to Derino and Rentana with the brunt of the attack before powering over the rest of them, showering them with crackling energy mixed with the spores that, as she had hoped, began to paralyse some of them. She wheeled around and fired another weaker stream from the back of the group, noticing that there were still three or so unconscious with sleep in their previous battlefield, hoping they were not going to stir anytime soon.

As she rained the crowd with her dragon type attack, she felt the tiniest bit of isolated apprehension before she cried out in pain and descended quicker than she could work to save herself, tumbling mercilessly against a rocky surface. She tumbled for a number of metres before coming to a halt, picking herself heavily from the ground as she noticed the rhyhorn from before, the only one that had gotten past Derino and now came from the other side, booming as she thundered toward her.

The granbull felt entirely defenceless as more pokémon pushed, firing dirty boulders and hefty stones his way. His blocking mechanism was wearing off, his forearms beginning to ache and bleed with the scrapes and indents that the hardened earth had created when he braced them in front of him in a cross, and his ice attacks were only getting weaker. His urgency was flaring to a nearly unbearable level; his only comfort, if it was that at all, was knowing that some of the opposing pokémon had become paralysed, even if it was only two at the front and a few more scattered loosely throughout the rest of the mob. The thought was not at all calming, and he only found himself gritting his teeth with fear as he had no idea what to do.

A shout from behind alerted him to the rhyhorn who reached down with his head and bucked the altaria up, tossing her to the wall on Derino's left as he faced them, somewhere near where Etire was resting, and continued to advance with weighty steps that hit the ground and caused it to throb lightly in her wake. The granbull knew he had let his guard down from behind, but needed not concern himself as he avoided the rock and ground pokémon's assault. Derino panted hard in light of his exertions and hurried to collect Rentana, watching as his enemy neared the crowd. The rhyhorn whirled around, coming in contact with them as she released a battle cry before, without stopping, leading her pokémon's assault. They all cheered and roared in return, and Derino shook his head, feeling every muscle in his body ache from what he had sustained and what he had dealt. His lungs were groaning with a need for more air, his throat drying faster than he could wet it with the futile efforts of swallowing saliva.

He rushed to Tarla, who was against the ground, and delivered a short kick to jumpstart her. Although she frowned and cringed in pain, she quickly hopped up and, realising they only had a collection of seconds to formulate some sort of plan, Derino shouted, "Carry them out of here!"

She agreed and, not mentioning she could only carry one at once in her talons, grabbed Etire, who was against the wall nearby, and spread her wings. She felt momentary doubt for a reason she could not fathom before she dragged her wings down with deliberate force, and it was then that she realised what the doubt was.

A crippling pain roared through her wing, and, shocked, she immediately screamed, her distress vocally projected as sharp jagged spikes which soared through the air into all ears of those who were in range. Derino spun around with horror at the mere sound of her cry and witnessed her uselessness as she leaned on one side, all her weight on one outstretched wing before she could adjust herself and remain upright, and allowed the other wing to hang as she bellowed with pain.

"Fly!" demanded the normal type and Tarla threw him a look of exaggerated disdain, eyes wide with disgust and emanating waves of discomfort and hurt.

"I _can't_!" she shouted and he growled with increasing frustration. Without Tarla's wings, there was no way they could get the others or himself to safety. She couldn't even save herself.

With a grunt he began to break into a run, looking over his shoulder to see the flying type, dangerously close to the mob of nearing pokémon, clamp her small beak around the psychic and fighting type's arm where it was thinnest, and began to hop after him. She flapped one wing frantically to propel herself forward, still taken by the pain of the other as she was forced to tuck in so it didn't slow her. She blundered after him, the pokémon being dragged by her side scuffing over stones as they went, until their path was suddenly obstructed by clustered brown bodies.

The altaria cursed aloud as the diglett and dugtrio, clearly enraged, blocked their path and popped from the side walls. Tarla had heard of territorial, but these pokémon were just overdoing it. "Stop!" she called, dropping what part of Etire she had been able to keep off the ground. "Why are you doing this?"

The rock and ground types spilled around them, some charging through and clashing with Derino's arms as they went past. He held Rentana firmly over his shoulder, unwilling to allow harm to come to her in an unconscious state.

"Does territory not speak as well to you as it does to us?" boomed a rhyhorn, the one who had been at the fore of the crowd and who had attacked Tarla.

"What do you mean?" she responded, her wings puffing up as she ruffled the feathers downing her body.

"Is it not clear?" yelled another, his voice gravelly and clearly unimpressed.

"You desecrate our land and try to tear it down. Your means of tunnelling are not accepted by the diglett!" the rhyhorn responded, and by the sounds of things, she was the leader.

"We weren't tunnelling," grumbled Derino, the arm that didn't hold Rentana over his shoulder tensing with a balled fist.

"That is your other problem," hissed the rhyhorn, taking steady, clunky steps around them. They watched her cautiously, still trying to keep watch of the other pokémon. "You destroy our habitat for no innocent reason." She narrowed her eyes as she came to a halt, then walked a few paces toward Tarla. "We know who you are."

"We were trying to make a path!" Derino exclaimed, and the altaria shook her head.

"No, that krinar was trying to make a path. I had no part in it. I _told _them to go the other way and they didn't listen."

"You are all guilty!" thundered the rhyhorn. "And I, Thunderquake, will see to it that justice serves you well." She released a shriek of combat and the crowd began to charge forward, the diglett and dugtrio on the other side doing the same.

Tarla and Derino, back to back as they stood guard in their own defence, stiffened as the attack neared. "Derino, I don't know what to do. My dragonbreath attack is the only ranged attack I have, and that won't stop them. It won't even make them flinch."

The granbull said nothing as his great jaws pressed together, his lips jerking to make way for bared teeth. The rhyhorn and geodude powered closer, the former crunching their paws against the earth in a flurry of stamps and thuds, the diglett and dugtrio from the other direction tunnelling through the ground and spattering dirt in flecks.

The pressure of the situation began to well inside the altaria and she pressed her beak together, deciding against it and separating it, then closing it again, and repeated the process. She felt shivers burst at the top of her neck and shudder throughout the rest of her body, her talons curling, trying to dig into the ground. Her heartbeat was faster than it had been when she was attacked by that skarmory, her chattering body not eligible to stop anytime soon as she continued to shake. They were so close that she could almost cry from the pain of their sharp horns, bulky bodies and powerful determination. She was trapped.

Without warning, Thunderquake, leading the attack, suddenly lit up with alarm, the rocky ground around her instantly caving with less than a few steps to provoke its degradation. Tarla gasped, the realisation coming to her as the ground collapsed further back, where more of them were, and each shrieked as they tumbled down below, the process happening in the blink of an eye and yet somehow slow.

Several of the rhyhorn panicked, jerking their heads in such a motion to propel the geodude in front of them forward, possibly to fling them to safety, flying surprisingly far as they soared over Tarla and Derino and smashed into the ground on the other side. The tunnelling dugtrio and diglett didn't seem to falter as there was a loud crack and the ground beneath them simply fell, the impact obviously enough to shatter the earth. Tarla and Derino widened their eyes but had no time to move as several tunnelling ground types popped up around them before they all sunk with the rest of the surrounding land. The ground separated like a bough heavy with plump aipom climbing branches, and simply broke away, falling to pieces.

The altaria cried out in dismay, trying to launch into the sky but felt only the drop under her feet as she fell helplessly down, the krinar flopping with her as he tumbled through the air, still unconscious. Rocks grazed her and forced themselves to clamp around her wings when they cracked before they separated in the freefall, the pain jolting from her wings to the rest of her body. She grimaced and tried to regain her bearings, but had no such luck as she slammed into the ground, several large boulders falling on and around her. Thankfully they were small ones that landed on her body, being lighter and falling slower, but she still groaned as they rained on her head and scraped her neck.

Derino had experienced much the same thing, his grip unfalteringly around Rentana as he shielded her body from any stray debris, trying his hardest to land on his feet, but in the confusion, ending on his back. He dropped the kirlia onto his front so she slumped uselessly, nearly obstructing his vision as he held out his arms in a crossed fashion, preventing most rocks from landing on them while he suffered the effects of being winded. Some still pattered down after the larger ones had passed, but most were tiny and harmless.

After the crumbling rocks had subsided, the altaria moaned, feeling aches in many places as her breath caught in her throat. It took her a moment to breathe again, and once she did, she shot to her feet, glancing frantically around at first to identify where she had landed. She quickly realised that most of the crowd had fallen with them and were also on the ground, a little dazed from the fall and the impact. However, being partly rock types, she knew they wouldn't be hindered for long.

As Etire began to stir, Derino glared over to him, as if momentarily disappointed that he had been overcome and defeated during battle. It didn't last long as he too noticed the quickly recovering enemy pokémon. Not a moment later, Rentana awoke, her heavy eyelids giving way to tired pupils that surveyed the area with a quick analysis. It took her a second to remember her mate, and once she did, she leapt a few paces away, where he lay near Tarla.

The altaria narrowed her eyes, jerking her head in a gesture to suggest that the granbull fall in beside them. "Rentana, shield!"

The kirlia stroked the krinar's face with a back-turned hand before getting to her toes and placing herself in the middle of the group, quickly erecting a surrounding shield generated by her ability to protect usually just herself. She had to remain standing, her arms apart while she held the shield up, the strain hitting her with more force than she had expected.

Etire hobbled to her side, his concern topping his thoughts as he struggled to stay standing. He gave her a confident nod and then looked at the other two. When he raised his voice and spoke, he was surprised by its frailty. "What's going on?"

"We're under attack," Tarla responded, half paying him attention and half focusing on the disjointed mob around them.

The krinar looked around, cringing as he realised that many wounds on his body were pulsing with ache, and some were bleeding. He could clearly see that they were outmatched, and as he jumped once they began to hammer and ram into the protective force-field, he felt a shudder run through the length of his body. He knew Rentana couldn't physically hold the barrier for long. He swallowed, realising even that hurt a little. "...Uh oh."

**ooo**

We had been travelling for quite some time. The others had been relatively silent and it bugged me. I wished that I had someone to keep me company, because it seemed as if the two quadrupeds were either too caught up in their private affairs and unwilling to share with me; they had some kind of unspoken argument bouncing between their eyes which I was, of course, also excluded from. Splash wasn't one for conversation, I had discovered, and although the prospect didn't surprise me, it didn't stop me from wishing he was a little more talkative.

We passed through another narrow passage that would allow two to walk side-by-side down. However, none of us were interested in pairing up, so we just walked single file. I was at the rear of the line, too concerned about their secrets and my boredom to be worried about what might, would or could be following. I only checked upon remembering to; otherwise, I didn't pay attention to it.

"So, uh..." I began, projecting my voice to the pokémon in front of me. "This path leads to the outside world in time for us to intercept the party?"

The houndoom, his head hanging as he trudged on, briefly gave me a glance, with a somewhat identifiable expression. "It does," he answered, and turned back, clearly not intent on engaging in a lengthy conversation.

"Well, do you...have a map?" I asked with a cringe, understanding how ridiculous that sounded.

He gave a chuckle in the form of a puff through his nostrils, somewhat condescending. He turned his head again and looked at me lightly. "No."

I had expected him to come up with something better than that, but clearly his mood prevented him from saying anything remotely cheeky or witty. For some reason I wanted it to happen though; he was acting weird. "Okay, spill the beans." He threw a face with a knotted brow toward me, the look on his face suddenly more wary. I didn't heed his intended warning and continued, "What is with you and the ice type? Would you stop hiding everything already? I think I deserve to know." He looked to want to protest but before he could, I added, "_Or_, if you don't want to tell me for whatever stupid reason, why don't you at least have a normal conversation with me about something _else_? Don't you think it's a little selfish to keep everything to yourself and leave me outta the loop without even bothering to compensate?"

"You're talkin' a whole lotta gibberish, Flair," he responded somewhat defensively, and although I didn't know what he meant, I simply assumed he believed that he didn't owe me conversation of any kind. I moved up beside him, probably making him a little uncomfortable in the narrow walkway but not exactly caring myself.

"That's another thing. _Why _the nickname? You know my name and you've used it, so tell me, why do you still call me 'Flair'?"

He threw his marginally agitated expression in front of him first, as if to test if the glaceon could hear, and then back to me. He gave a short sigh. He seemed to lean in close, and I frowned, wondering what he planned to say. I angled my head in interest so his muzzle was right by my ear. He waited a moment and then uttered, "Because I feel like it."

At his remark I rolled my head around with open jaws, hoping to catch some of his flesh in my teeth. I rumbled with a growl and he flicked his tail, having pulled away at the right time. I narrowed my eyes and murmured, "Useless," and we kept walking.

It hadn't been long when the path widened and we came to a much more open passage, similar to how it was when Azure and Splash had caught up to us a short while ago, and suddenly, something strange pulsed through the tunnel from another direction. My ears pricked as I came to a halt behind Azure and Splash, who had stopped as well. The glaceon was alert as her ears stood atop her head, and the quagsire merely stood casually. I doubted he had done anything but follow Azure's movements.

As far as I could make out, it sounded like a series of smashes, yelps from other pokémon and shattering of rock. I nearly expected a tremble beneath my toes, but felt nothing but an odd fire start within me. There had definitely been something unusual nearby. It almost sounded like something had burst through a wall or the floor of the tunnel, but I was completely unsure. I had never heard anything like it, and I wasn't about to make assumptions. I had to see what it was.

"Come on," I commanded brusquely, taking off down the tunnel. The noises and other similar commotion continued, so it was easy to simply follow my ears. I came to an abrupt stop after running partway down the passage, turning back a few paces and darting down a side path, curving with the tunnel as I raced on.

"Wait!" I heard Zaion call, and I grinned smugly on the inside, happy to have disobeyed him. "Flair, that's the wrong way!"

I didn't bother to give him the satisfaction of an answer and kept going, extending my limbs in front and behind me in an effort to outrun him and possibly lose him, although I knew I had no idea what I would be encountering, so any bait – uh, I mean, company – would be appreciated, especially if it was a fight I was entering. The fact that it _could _be a battle only occurred to me when the sounds I heard before had grown relatively loud, indicating that whatever I was hearing was at the end of the tunnel I was following. Paired with that realisation was the thought that whatever it was had to have been strong enough to break _through_ a wall, meaning that it had to have been powerful. That's how it had sounded, anyway.

I suddenly regretted leaving the others behind. It was always a forte of mine to be rash, and combined with stubbornness and any form of revenge, even if it was merely expressed in the form of inconveniencing my victim, it was common that I found myself in dangerous predicaments.

One time I distinctively remembered an incident where Izante's master had woken to a chilly breeze in the middle of winter on a day when we were camping outside, and Izante had been in her poké ball the entire night. I was out, however, not as prone to feeling the cold, and he blamed me for a burnt hole in the side of the tent. I had been rather offended when he blamed me, as I had not committed the act and therefore denied responsibility for the crime, and Master had been persuaded to side with him. It had hurt me greatly, and out of anger for them both, once they went back to sleep, I slipped out the same hole and eventually found myself in a fight with three humans who thought I was wild.

I had worked my butt off trying to fend them off, and they had clearly been without strong morals, as they wore me down to a tired lump of fur, and had discussed the possibility of taking me to a "release specialist," which I knew was only a euphemism for a human that severed the connection a pokémon had with a poké ball and simultaneously a trainer, and unbound the pokémon, voluntary or not. I had come dangerously close to being abducted before my master and Izante's had found me, bordering on unconsciousness as the humans prepared to transport me. Luckily the fight had been fairly short and my master's other pokémon had wiped out their opponents without trouble, but the fact still remained: I had fled in an emotional rage and gotten myself into a pickle, all to presumably "punish" my trainer for not believing me.

I presently forgot the past and spilled into a room that was quite large and populated with pokémon, which surprised me considering we hadn't seen many yet, as well as an abnormally enormous amount of light. I shielded my eyes from the gushing brightness which poured in from above through a gaping gap in the ceiling. My brow rippled with perplexity and I recoiled in surprise; that was certainly not a regular occurrence, and neither was it natural.

I didn't know what else to absorb next; there was a considerable amount of rock and ground type pokémon, each looking fiercer than the last, but none directly swayed me with a breeze of fear. The group as a whole was visibly daunting, but I was glad that each pokémon had their back turned, figuratively speaking, apparently entirely focused on pokémon that didn't match the rest.

In the centre of the wide spotlight was a group of four huddled pokémon, and with alarm and confusion I identified them as the party members we were searching for. I certainly knew Tarla's face, as well as her species, but the others were unknown to me. I remembered the granbull from my first day at the colony, as he was one of the pokémon who opened the door to Habib's home, but the kirlia and her lookalike counterpart were unknown to me. I only assumed they were pokémon belonging to the names that Cubbs or Mynk shared with me while I was being shown through the colony grounds—names which I had forgotten. None of them seemed to notice me as I stood, mostly concealed, watching from a distance.

A barrier placed around them looked to be held up by the kirlia, her arms raised and her face tight with concentration and knowledge of the possibility that she could let the protective covering down at any given moment if she was to falter. A question ran in my head and I wondered why there was a shield at all. It seemed to have little effect, and was only draining the kirlia's strength. _'They're not preparing for escape,' _I determined, _'and they're not charging up attacks. So what's the tactic?' _

Taking me by surprise, the ground types began ramming themselves into the transparent green shield, and I gave a frown, realising that the purpose of the shield was probably just general protection; they looked to be out of ideas and low on defence mechanisms, probably as they recovered from what could have been a fall from above, judging by the plentiful debris and the unnatural look of the opening above them. The shield was also one of their only chances to think of something – or more like anything – that could help them. I looked upon the scene with mixed feelings. I knew for a fact that I would have jumped immediately in to help, but a long time ago, I had discovered fire couldn't burn rock.

Just as I hoped someone would arrive, the pattering of paws reached my ears, followed by the appearance of my houndoom travelling companion, and then of Azure and Splash, who had trailed closely behind in pursuit. "Woah, what happened here?" the fire and dark type questioned with genuine surprise, his eyes absorbing the scene before him.

"I don't know, but those guys are trapped. We have to get them outta there," I informed him, although I sort of hoped he would already have been able to pick that up; only someone with brain damage couldn't have guessed that much.

Azure, standing behind us with a face of concern shaped by angled eyebrows, whispered something to Splash before she looked to hesitate, and then burst into the room from between us, screeching with what I thought was unnecessary volume, her shrill cry flooding the entire room as she unleashed beams of ice that struck the ground types and fanned out on their behinds. The quagsire was similarly quick to react, firing columns of gushing water into more of the wild pokémon.

Azure leapt over a rhyhorn after springing upwards, turning while airborne and firing shards of ice one after the other and watching as they split on her target's armour. The rhyhorn grunted in a half-roar, trying to shake off the cold as he backed up and attempted to free himself of the ice that crusted his rocky skin. His thick brow came down over his eyes, the rage on his face flaring and revealing itself as a motive to hunt the glaceon down as she darted off, weaving between other pokémon and spurting short spears of ice to assorted targets from her jaws.

Splash spewed out rows of water at a rapid rate, soaking a pair of geodude who had rounded on him and tried to attack. Another one followed, but to Splash's contentment, slipped on a puddle which had been transformed by the water he produced. It had also influenced other parts of the tunnel's floor, turning several patches into muddy puddles. Due to this, the rock pokémon slid over time and again, landing with wet, sloshing thuds.

A number of the diglett began to surround him, some of them ramming into him from underneath. He aimed and fired, missing as a diglett ducked and the projectile continued on toward the barrier, pounding its shell as it ricocheted a little and then met the earth after losing momentum. A dugtrio emerged from the ground to the quagsire's side, and while busy with the others, he didn't notice as the pokémon began pumping in and out of the ground, the three conjoined bodies creating a quake while working off each other and took turns hammering the earth with precise movements. The entire room was victim to a wobble, but the ground near the quagsire in particular gained a crack, one of his feet slipping into a tiny crevice. I could clearly see it scrape along the sides of the rock and cringed; that was how Zhol had ruined her foot, and the end result had not been pretty.

"We have to do something," I decided, and the houndoom didn't protest as I waited for a reply, so I went ahead with my plan and sped into the room, coming upon a dugtrio while blowing a hot jet of flames. I could tell the attack injured the pokémon to an acceptable extent before he disappeared and more diglett swarmed me. One of them vanished with a deliberation that I certainly recognised, and waited for about the time it would take to get from its hole to me, and bounced at what I had calculated was the right time, landing on the ground a few paces away and blowing more fire at the ground types. I moved back, close to the shield, and nearly turned around to slip behind the shield, which was close to the back wall, as I fended them off.

Taking the chance and beginning to run behind the shield after turning around, my ears pricked up in response to the sound of constant thumping before I saw, from the other end of the shield, that Azure was nearing at a quick pace. As I identified the thundering as a rhyhorn stampeding after her, not yet in view, I widened my eyes. She was darting rather quickly, and I wasn't sure exactly where to go in order to avoid her, or worse, the charging rhyhorn which would surely appear from around the corner of the barrier any second.

"Move!" she shouted, and I registered just before she came through, squashing against the barrier as she passed between me and the wall with just enough space. Preparing to propel myself around to follow her, hardly interested in coming in contact with the rhyhorn, I quickly rotated around. I barely had a chance to move as the diglett from before erupted from the ground, throwing me to my left and directly into the barrier with a thump. I landed on my side and groaned as the rhyhorn swerved around and into the space between the barrier and the wall, beginning to charge my way in pursuit of the glaceon. For one foolish moment I imagined that the rock and ground type would ignore me and power straight past, but after realising how ridiculous that would have been, I cursed logic and returned my glance from over my shoulder.

The pokémon thudded my way, and as quickly as I could I got to my feet, only to be rammed against the barrier a second time as the diglett head-butted me while I had been busy focusing on more pressing matters, and in that moment, I knew that I was going to be swept away by the charging dual type behind me.

The pokémon's rocky body slammed into my side, carrying me in its charge as it failed to turn and headed straight toward the wall—the same one we had emerged from that was connected to our tunnel. "Wait, wait!" I called, my voice failing at first as I found myself a little winded. "Stop! You don't wanna do that. You're heading straight for a wall!"

Apparently that fact didn't concern the pokémon as he continued to charge, and with a sickening feeling, I tried to scramble off his head, finding it difficult to move at all. However, I managed to slip away once I wedged myself off, crumpling once I hit the ground and tumbling for a short while. I got to my paws and shook off, feeling a new pulse in my side. The rhyhorn wheeled around and with ongoing annoyance, I realised that there were more diglett powering through the ground in my direction.

"We need he-elp," I sung agitatedly, throwing a glare to the houndoom who looked on without much of an expression. He stood at the entrance _still_, and I found myself growing more serious as the seconds passed.

I threw my head to Splash and Azure, noticing that they were doing fairly well, yet to our horror, the opening above invited more pokémon to drop down onto the barrier upon hearing their friends in danger, and I was completely unsure if the influx of enemy pokémon was able to be held off. However, I had my own problems to deal with, and turned back to the houndoom, demanding his presence as I felt my respect – or all I could muster in the days I had known him – for him steeply plummet.

The pokémon were approaching with increasing speed, and I knew that I was unable to face them alone. As I looked back to them and tried firing a ball of flame, which simply dissipated as the diglett ducked and it instead came in contact with the ground, I realised that if I didn't come up with a new strategy then, I was in for some serious damage.

"Zaion!" I shouted, and although the houndoom acknowledged my call, he still did nothing. Instead of jumping to my rescue and looking to act as some kind of saviour, he just looked on.


	28. Chapter Twenty-eight: Aim and Fire

**Chapter Twenty-eight: Aim and Fire**

Each pokémon hammering against the top of the shield was weakening Rentana and presenting her with excess strain. Her muscles were going to give out at any moment; she knew she couldn't protect her friends for much longer.

"Ren, it's fine..." Tarla explained calmly. "Release the shield. You need to save your strength for offence."

The kirlia was unsure, but Etire faced her, catching her gaze. "She's right. We have help now! You can let it go."

After a moment longer of consideration, the psychic type gave a nod and, with the release of a bottled breath, she dropped her arms. She crumpled with relief, beginning to pant with the effort as the lessened aching continued. Etire placed a hand on her back and she looked to him with a tiny appreciative smile.

The group of four dispersed as another rhyhorn dropped from above, a loud crunching crash probably splitting the earth from behind. Rentana jumped with surprise and the others focused themselves, Derino pressing a curled paw into his open one in preparation for a brick break. As he did that, Tarla tried her wing, as if by some miracle it had healed in an unrealistically short period of time. She knew that she could have flown if she tried, but the pain would have rendered her unable to focus or direct herself properly, and decided it was best to leave it alone until she could return to Aemara.

The krinar was barely of any use, his injuries too recent to do anything, and the kirlia's energy was, as she had realised, low and of an inefficient to be able to apply it to any sort of focus on battling. The thought scared her, especially as she knew that it meant she was unable to protect her mate, who, as she glanced to him and looked him over worriedly, appeared weak and barely even able to stand.

"Watch out!" called Tarla, and the kirlia snatched Etire out the way of a rock fired their way. The altaria hopped forward two steps and fired a dragonbreath, the odd indigo and yellow flames crackling as they worked with one another and swept over the rhyhorn. His cringe indicated that his body felt some kind of response to the attack, which was better than nothing, but obviously he was far from finished. "Go on," persuaded the dragon and flying type, her neck twisting to help her see her comrades. "Escape through one of the side passages. Don't worry about me."

Etire and Rentana looked to one another, the latter supporting the former as he limped on a single leg. "We can't leave you," the krinar scoffed with obviousness in his tone.

"You have to," hissed the opposing pokémon, but he shook his head.

"You protected us when we couldn't protect ourselves, and we need to—"

Unleashing a screech and propelling herself to the side with her good wing, Tarla narrowly avoided the rhyhorn, who charged their way. His anger replaced any rationality as he flashed an angry glare to the three, rounding without stopping and charging again toward Tarla. "There's no—point!" she yelled as she once again tried to move from range. She chanced a futile stroke of her wing, but the produced air did nothing to influence the ground and rock type to do anything but blink a moment later. He roared, the ground beneath his feet trembling at his very presence. "You can't _do _anything!" she continued to protest. "And I saved you because that's what—"

A violent slam jerked the altaria forward, her neck whipping back as she felt something painful occur in the bones. The force sent her forward, the pokémon who had charged her bucking her off its head plate as the first rhyhorn looked on, a little shocked by the appearance of a second of his species to attack his prey. However, they didn't argue or even exchange mutual or one-sided acknowledgement for one another as they split up and targeted the ralts evolutions.

"Rentana," Etire began urgently, trying to stand on his own, "we have trouble!"

The kirlia's shaking limbs did not provide suitable mental support, the doubt she had for herself threatening to override any sort of hope she had for overcoming the prominent injuries and aches. She contemplated dropping Etire to focus on her attack, but decided against it, even though she could feel him resisting. Immediately she thought he was growing weaker and was not choosing to release her, and she frowned defiantly.

"No, let me go... You need to focus! You can't while I'm..." The krinar stopped as he felt his arm tingle with an unfamiliar sensation. He could feel it rippling through his skin as he contemplated what his mate was dong.

The kirlia focused a moment longer, mustering the strength she needed, and a second before the two rhyhorn came upon them, she vanished, reappearing on the side of the room and before one of the openings that veered away. She collapsed on the ground, the krinar doing the same as he lost his physical support. She whispered apologies and looked up, spotting the rhyhorn halfway across the other side of the room.

"Well, you lost 'em," he commented, and she nodded, regaining her breath and getting back to her toes. Normally she would not have felt such strain when she teleported, but taking another as well as herself while she was weak was what did it.

From a distance, on the opposite side of the cave, Rentana spotted a small battle happening between two geodude and a rhyhorn and the flareon and houndoom she had seen enter. She thought for a moment, trying to recall when she'd seen either of them. As her eyes fell upon the newly arriving glaceon and quagsire, she felt a tiny pang of relief, but her faith was not restored as she noticed something: they were losing.

Scanning the rest of the room, she noticed, in the immense light pouring in from a ways above, the rock and ground types had the upper hand. Their rock projectiles shattered against anyone they touched, dealing damage while the spray barely affected their teammates. Their physical attacks overcoming the pokémon with a type advantage with sheer numbers and encumbering strength. Splash was the hardiest of them all and proved to be the most difficult to overcome, she realised, as she watched him wrap his massive paws around a geodude's arms and run a jet of water over his face, spraying the others while he was at it, and hauled the pokémon to the side. Occasionally another would notice the airborne pokémon and a few times, they would work together, such as when the glaceon would project a sheet of snow which often solidified moments after emerging from her body, only for another rock type to shatter it to free their comrade. There were only three geodude and two rhyhorn out of their entire group that had lost their consciousness, and the rest were still perfectly able to battle.

"Rentana!" Etire called a little desperately, shuffling to his feet. She looked in the direction he was facing, noticing a charging dual type, and a few diglett also appeared around them. She gritted her teeth, swallowing as she tried to pinpoint an attack that didn't sap too much of her energy but was effectively damaging. The only thing that came to mind was shadow ball, and, summoning the negative energy required, she fired a small one at a diglett, who simple withdrew into the earth and avoided the attack completely. It didn't give the kirlia much hope, and as she glanced around at her other opponents, she came to the conclusion that she would have to think of something else. Either that, or she and her mate were in major trouble.

**ooo**

It had been right that the pesky houndoom jumped to my rescue at the last moment. Typical it took him so long though; it was as if he was testing my patience, or even my worth, to begin with. It was rather disgusting, but I threw the thought away as we were attacked again. It was getting ridiculous. I hadn't had much of an opportunity to focus on any other group, but I could tell that the enemy was winning. They didn't seem discouraged if one of us bowled over five at once, as they simply got back up, as if the undead who were incapable of hitting the rocky floor for good.

Rocks had shattered on my skin and I had been horn attacked twice or three times. The bruises were going to develop soon after, I knew, and hoped that I wasn't bleeding anywhere I didn't notice. My bullet wounds were beginning to hurt again, even if they had long closed up, and the thought made my annoyance rather plentiful.

"Zaion, we have to do something," I told him with some urgency, a geodude aiming for my legs as he drew an arm back. "Oh, no you don't!" I hissed, launching a shadow ball at his face. He was blown back and momentarily dazed before realising that he was fine, and threatened to continue without a hitch. The sight made me blow smoke through my nose. "We're _losing_. We have to pull out!"

"Good of you to understand the predicament," he answered, and called something to Azure, who was busy flipping and leaping to the side while accompanying the altaria. She then flicked her head to the two ralts evolutions on the other side of the cavern and fled, and I wondered for a brief moment if Tarla would be okay on her own, but was soon accompanied by the granbull, which quelled my concern.

Suddenly my mind retreated to Zhol, and I wished greatly that she was with me. As much as I didn't want her injured any further, it would have been handy to have that moral support and a good fighter on our side.

A cry drew me to the quagsire, who was rammed into by a rhyhorn and trapped against a wall. I had briefly seen his handiwork in battle and concluded that he was a battler certainly worthy of a rescue. He had put countless bundles of effort into protecting others and slowly causing a decline in the enemy's numbers. I looked quickly to Zaion and quickly told him that I planned to help. The houndoom gave me a wary glance and continued to fend off another pokémon while I swallowed and spotted a rhyhorn close by who decided it was a smart idea to charge. I encouraged myself to smile with confidence as he approached, and drew a breath, feeling my legs tingle with expectation as I leaped onto his face above his horn. In response he bucked his head, throwing me over his body. Conveniently that was what I wanted, but I understood that a rhyhorn with a pokémon on his face was not very comforting. However, it was not as if I cared what was comfortable for my opponents. It was my aim to make them _un_comfortable.

I landed with a thump and regained myself quickly, bounding toward the rhyhorn who held the quagsire against the wall. I was so focused on devising an offensive move to rid the ground and water type of the rhyhorn pressing against his body with unwanted pressure to heed the houndoom's barks of urgency. In fact, I dismissed them in an effort to concentrate. I should have listened.

A disturbingly familiar pain exploded in my left side and scaled the surrounding flesh before everything blurred and I slammed into the wall to my right. More pain cut across my entire right side as it collided, the rock wall's jagged edges jabbing my skin as I felt my body compress and the muscles tighten responsively. I shrieked, the feeling stripping me of any other thought or means to concentrate as the horn punctured my flesh, the force of the rhyhorn's body increasingly unbearable. The feeling was absolutely horrendous; my brain thunderously pulsed with the immensity of the pain, my body unable to move, to writhe or to repel the force. My bones began to feel as if they were crunching, my body shuddering with a frightening consistency as the horn dug into my flesh, feeling as if it ripped through the layer of meat and began to scrape my organs. My screams punctured the air with repetitive consistency, the shrillness startling even me as they continued, the pain bursting through me.

My thoughts went to death as I struggled against the horrific measure of pain searing through every inch of my body, my breath erupting from my mouth as screams of pure agony, the feeling failing to cease even a shred. My screams of utter anguish ripped through the air, combined blubbering and gushes of tears in accompaniment.

"HELP!" I managed to gurgle, the increasing pressure causing me to falter shortly after as I felt a horrid sensation in the pit of my throat. With a jerk from my stomach, a bomb of blood exploded from my mouth and splattered the ground before I coughed and spluttered, continuing to wail as I realised just what I had done. The sheer horror of the prospect was enough to contort my face even further, and in response, a stream of flames billowed from my maw and poured onto whatever it could find, which happened to be Splash and the rhyhorn still pressing into him. The flames were hotter than I intended and my lips wrenched back as I realised the heat was nearly burning my throat.

I felt the removal of the rhyhorn's horn from my side all at once, my body shaking as I slipped down the wall and slopped onto the ground, moaning in agony. I felt horrifyingly sick, battered and bruised, tears flowing from my eyes as I struggled to breathe, each intake haggard and hesitant, my wound beating with renewed pain each time. My limbs were flat and floppy, my head lazily against the ground, and my mane poked me in several places.

I spluttered again and what remained of the blood residue in my mouth rolled out and dribbled down my face, my eyes half open as I tried to comprehend what was happening. I could feel the warm liquid pooling under my cheek, colouring my facial fur maroon.

Slowly the world span and I resisted, attempting to blink out the problem but failing to abolish it. The feeling overcame me, smothering my consciousness as I drifted away from the cave, away from the pokémon around me, and away from even myself.

**ooo**

Derino felt his shoulder pulse as he and the houndoom ravaged the rhyhorn on the cavern floor, avoiding any charging, stomping or thrown rocks aimed in their direction. The houndoom roared with great ferocity and fought with similar energy, his strong lungs projecting a stream of fire to engulf the pokémon and, if nothing else, distort its surroundings with smoke and coloured, wavering filters. He snarled and snapped, building negative thoughts and unleashing a wave of dark power and combined, the purple normal type and the dual type hound pokémon managed to defeat their foe.

"And stay down!" Zaion shouted with a triumphant snort.

The two looked to each other and then to the fallen pokémon. Looking at its horn, the granbull growled before wiping blood off his forearm. The flareon's blood.

Zaion bolted away from the fallen rock and ground type, appearing beside the flareon in a heartbeat. He quickly sunk and was quick to inspect the wound, which looked to be between her ribs and her hip on her left side. It wept blood at a steady rate, and he recoiled, sure that the wound would only get worse if he didn't find a way to stop the bleeding. The sight of the blood spatter near her face, which she had thrown up, was also confronting, and he suddenly contemplated how bad the wound really was. The fact that she had been rendered unconscious came to him as no surprise; the shock was enough to do that, as well as the accompanying exhaustion. He only hoped that the attack didn't puncture any vital organs.

The thought of a horn in one's side was a horrendous one, and he could only imagine what it was like to experience. In a rage, he whirled around and called, "Is this what you wanted?" A few pokémon turned their attention to him for a moment, but that didn't stop them from fighting. "Listen to me!" he roared, launching a crackling fireball at the ceiling. The earth bordering the hole in the ceiling began to crumble and some bits fell down below, striking a geodude and avoiding Azure by a mere hair. She glared at him, but he only glared back with twice the intensity. "Look what you foolish pokémon have DONE to this flareon! Someone who entered this fight to try and help pokémon she doesn't even know."

Some of the wild pokémon focused on his words, but some scoffed in response, remorse clearly not crossing their minds. "Anyone who fights alongside the ones that desecrated our lands is an enemy! You disrespect the land and you disrespect its inhabitants!"

The houndoom sneered. "Don't you think this is taking it a bit _far_?"

"Never!" grumbled a gravelly geodude. "If we hadn't stopped that fool," he began, thrusting an accusing hand at the krinar on the opposite side of the cave to the houndoom, "he would have destroyed our wall. OUR home. Who knows what else he could have destroyed?"

"If you just _asked_, I would have stopped!" protested the krinar, who was only looked upon with disdain.

"You see?" the houndoom barked, capturing all attention again. He briefly observed his teammates backing away from the group of rock types, holding their ground a few paces back. "The matter could have been resolved through simple words. Then they could have moved on and everyone would have peace."

"We don't make _peace _with _traitors_!" spat a furious rhyhorn, who, when given a moment to step out and show herself, was clearly identified as Thunderquake, the leader. She commanded her teammates' attention and respect as she stood proudly.

"Traitor?" Etire questioned, surprise taking his entire expression. "I don't bear association with your herd."

The rock and ground type kept her gaze upon Zaion. "No traitor is welcome. We _kill _traitors so they don't return to betray and cause further harm."

Zaion's face was as muddled with confusion and shock as Etire's, and he blinked with a frown. "Traitors? What do you mean by that?"

"Any foolish youngling knows what a traitor is!" boomed the rhyhorn. "Tell me, boy. What is your name so that I may shout chants of satirical nature about the fool who didn't even know what he was?"

"_How _are these pokémon traitors?" he demanded. "Or _me _for that matter?"

She looked to him with a hardened expression of contempt. She then tossed her gaze about and rested her eyes upon a few colony pokémon, snorting with ridicule. "No pokémon of this assortment is part of a single clan." Zaion watched carefully, somewhat knowing of what she was going to direct the accusation to. "And any _clan _knows not to destroy lands that belong to other pokémon, for they themselves own land they wish to protect!"

"It was a simple _mistake_," Etire intervened, speaking up so his voice reached her hidden ears.

"Mistake or not, we cannot overlook the suspicion we have no choice but to employ. And therefore, you are our enemies!" The rock and ground types roared in reply, the rhyhorn scraping their solid legs along the ground with snorts and rumbles. The geodude flexed their muscles and a few punched the ground.

"No, no, stop!" the houndoom called again, and although reluctant, the rhyhorn lay enraged eyes upon him.

"Do not try to stop us, fool!"

"Maybe you are the fool," a voice accused, and the rhyhorn, nearly livid at the suggestion, tossed her head to her right to spot an altaria who looked relatively worn. The other rock and ground types drilled their outraged glares into the flying type but she stood her ground, a wing hanging somewhat limply at her side. "You brand us traitors, attack us needlessly and then disregard our pleas for innocence."

"You made no—"

"And worst of all," the altaria continued, her eyes narrow and her tone conveying implications of something close to hurt, "you disrespect our colony." Further explanation of the statement was clearly desired as everyone remained silent. "The Usster Colony was founded by Retsu, a most honourable a flygon who had at heart the interests of stray pokémon with nowhere to go. The very purpose of our colony is its multiculturalism—the unique acceptance of any pokémon, regardless of species, gender, type or past conflictions who have no place in the world, or who may have been rejected from their previous homes and families." She scanned the room, noticing as Azure shifted a little uncomfortably.

Nobody spoke for a few seconds and all seemed dead silent. Zaion glanced with minor desperation to the flareon beside him and Tarla noticed, eager to resolve the issue and get her medical aid.

For around five seconds, the lead rhyhorn merely looked on, a judgemental mind making its decision. "While I cannot understand your acceptance of any pokémon who simply asks your favour, I accept it." For a moment Tarla was surprised but relieved, but the rock type was not finished. "But I cannot stand idly by while a hypocrite tries to tell us how disrespectful we are when your disrespect started this entire battle! Traitors!"

"I think you have the wrong idea of what a traitor is," Zaion proposed with etched scepticism, watching as the pokémon a few metres from him flared up with anger. "How are we traitors for destroying your territory? Disrespectful, yes," he started, throwing a small glare to Etire, "but not _traitors_."

"You are not just traitors to us. But the whole of your kind," the rhyhorn hissed.

"To...houndoom?" Zaion questioned in confusion, turning his head on an exaggerated angle.

"_No_," she grunted, "to every pokémon who ever lived."

With a face of shock and then confusion, followed by the addition of near-amusement, the houndoom looked to Tarla, who relayed his expression. The drama of the situation was blown far out of proportion. "Look. I think we better just negotiate some kind of—"

"I already told you," boomed the rhyhorn, rearing for exaggerated effect, "we do not make peace with traitors. That includes you Rokont _scum_!"

"Rokont?!" blurted Derino with his gruff edge, silencing the entire room. His bark was so abrupt and direct that nobody's eyes rested anywhere but to him. Some of the smaller geodude and a few diglett, who had emerged from the ground to listen in, cowered uncomfortably under his infuriated scowl. He puffed his chest out and, too far from a wall to be able to hit one, dropped to the ground and thrust a fist directly beneath where he stood, the floor giving a small shudder. He rose slowly with broad shoulders raised around his neck, and he glowered at the rhyhorn with such wrathful pupils that even she looked on with a tiny instigation of shock. "Those weak, cowardly, frail-minded _desecrators _are in no way associated with my _brothers _and_ sisters_," he snarled with a whisper of disgust, his lips curling back, framing long, sharp teeth. "How DARE you correlate the likes of those screwed up, insidious bastards with my _pack mates._" He plodded steadily and purposefully toward the rhyhorn, who narrowed her eyes and coloured her lips with corresponding scorn as he approached, stopping inches before her face. "I would sooner skin my own body and hang myself by my jaw than willingly cooperate with the _Rokont Organisation_." His breath was foul; the rhyhorn merely glared back at him.

Silence flooded the room. Not a single strand of hair swayed; not the smallest pebble shifted. The breeze didn't dare enter the cavern, no muscle chancing a twitch. Breaths entered and exited bodies with unfamiliar gradualness; no eyelid fell over any pupil.

Ears ticked to the sound of spluttering, and a single body moved, seizing on the ground in small shivers.

"She's in danger," Tarla snapped, breaking the silence almost nobody would have dared to shatter otherwise. The lead rhyhorn, who she remembered was called Thunderquake, turned to her with reluctance, quickly eying the granbull before her while doing so. "She was attacked by one of _your_ rhyhorn. Now look what's happened." Everybody turned back, and the flareon began to stir as she groaned with pain, failing to regain consciousness. "She needs desperate help or she'll bleed out."

"What do I do?" the houndoom questioned a little anxiously, capturing the lead rhyhorn's attention.

"We do not inflict wounds with intention to heal them afterwards. I do not know how to tend to your friend's wound."

The granbull took another step, causing her eyes to flick back to him. "Your subordinates better have some way to deal with this," he growled, glare firmly set. "You made the mistake. You will help us _fix _it."

"The only mistake made was by your paw. It was your appearance in _our _territory that began this feud, and then your reckless destruction which cost us damage to our lands and you..." She moved her head to the limp flareon soaking in her own blood and narrowed her eyes. "I think you can guess."

The granbull roared, and Zaion was sure he was going to strike the rock type in front of him, but the blow never came, and the normal type loomed over her, working his intimidation. "You must atone for what that creature caused." He threw an arm in a fallen rhyhorn's direction, gesturing specifically to his bloodied horn.

"We must atone nothing!" she boomed, rearing on her back legs and coming down again with an enormous thud. "Your claims of indignation towards the Rokont Organisation were convincing; however, we still cannot be sure of your intentions. What could the... _Usster Colony _possibly want with our land?"

"Azure," Tarla whispered hurriedly, and the glaceon turned. "Tend to the wound. Maybe your ice can help."

The ice type gave a brief nod and warily glanced about, making her way slowly between the enemy pokémon as they sneered at the prospect of their target slipping from their grasp. On her way past Splash, she uttered, "Come." The two stopped by Dusty and the flareon groaned another time, her eyes still closed. Azure guessed she wasn't yet conscious but was probably trying to wake, and commanded Splash to wash the wound out.

Ever so carefully, he sprayed water into the wound, and the surrounding skin tensed, her leg twitching with discomfort. The water twisted and turned, becoming tinted with a scarlet hue. Azure moved her head to the other side, against the wall, and propped the flareon's back half up, allowing the water to trickle down her fur and out of the opening. She set her back down and came around next to Splash.

"We were on our way to the Rokont base," Etire interjected, and the surrounding pokémon renewed the strength of their scornful glares. He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. He felt like slapping himself in the face after realising that he had only made things worse.

"You see?!" Thunderquake exclaimed, and Tarla hopped up beside Derino, taking a chance and nearing the opposition. The geodude and rhyhorn nearby closed in, ensuring that they didn't let anybody take advantage of their leader.

"Who, in their right mind, would admit to returning to their own base if they wished to keep their identity hidden?" she questioned and, except for the soft murmuring of Zaion and Azure, who discussed Dusty's treatment, everyone was silent again. "We're on our way there for an investigation." When nobody spoke again, their accusations replaced with narrowed eyes, she continued. "There was an attack on our village without explanation and we decided that taking a party to the base would be a good way to figure it out. We have one of their teammates hostage, which is clear leverage for us."

With a snort, the rhyhorn produced a belittling smile. The other pokémon followed her, and she broke into a rumbling, condescending chortle. Tarla frowned in surprise, completely unsure why their reaction had been as it had. She looked to Derino, who was just as confused. The rhyhorn continued, her laughter breaking off after a good few seconds. "You really aren't from the Rokont Organisation," she confirmed, and those around her nodded, clearly amused.

"Well what's that supposed to mean?" Tarla queried, a frown taking her face.

The rhyhorn only looked at her with a face of cruel mockery. "Walking into their base with _one _insignificant minor will get you slaughtered; nothing more."

"Not nothing more, leader," one began, and she turned to him. "Perhaps they'll have the privilege of being put on display outside of their base." The room rumbled with more distasteful chuckles, and Tarla swallowed. It was obvious he hadn't meant alive.

The granbull growled, clearly unhappy with her response. "We're going there and that's final."

Thunderquake shot him a condescending glower. "Don't expect us to erect gravestones in your wake."

"Well, go on," shouted a random rhyhorn, "get out of our territory. It's death's territory you want."

"Okay, would you stop with the death thing?" Tarla screeched, but the rock types continued to chuckle between one another. "We're going, regardless of what you think. We don't care if you have a problem with it. We'll go and just...figure out what to do once we get there."

"Send me a messenger bird from the Underworld; I've always wanted to know what it's like," laughed a geodude, and the others slammed fists and shoulders into him in hearty amusement

Tarla shot a glare to the geodude, who didn't even bother to look. "Look," Tarla began, sure that Thunderquake was just as keen to see the "intruders" leave, "all we want is to pass through here." She surveyed the area, sure that this wasn't their most desirable path.

However, it seemed none of them were able to escape back through the hole. Had her wing been fine, she could shoot straight up like a sapling in good weather, and Rentana could teleport herself. However, there were complications with teleportation that Tarla didn't understand; besides, the kirlia had specifically made it clear that she would not take advantage of her ability to teleport while her mate, who was unable to use the same ability, would be left behind. Tarla figured it was fair, although it unfairly limited her abilities, which was the part that annoyed her.

From the corner of her eye, Tarla saw several of the enemy pokémon beginning to wake, their grogginess slowly blinked or shaken out. She was glad that they were not currently in the middle of battle, as they would have to try to defeat the same enemies a second time. That thought was not at all comforting.

"Yes. I too want you gone." Thunderquake tossed a head to the opposite side of the cave, where the two ralts evolutions were. "There's two paths that way and more over there." She threw her gaze to the left wall.

"I was going to make a proposition," admitted the altaria, trying to stand tall. The quadruped rock and ground type raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "We don't know the way out of here. You want us out, so it would only seem logical that you helped us through. Do you not agree?"

"An escort party?" Thunderquake questioned with obvious amusement. Tarla blinked and swallowed, keeping herself composed. "Are you all the age of two years?"

Once again the flareon spluttered and jerked, the wound caused by a horn sealed with ice. The houndoom looked up. "Your vicious beasts did this. Your efforts to make up for it would be...appreciated," he said, almost controlling himself as he dipped his head to stare at her from an angle. The words seemed almost like a threat. The rhyhorn narrowed her eyes and snorted.

"Although I don't appreciate your _implication_, you dog, I do believe that guidance on our part would benefit us both," she answered, "as we do not live beneath the surface. We travel this way occasionally but our homes are on ground level. We would be making our way out anyway."

"Exactly," Tarla agreed with a civil tone, showing as much submission as she dared. If the rhyhorn needed to feel as if she was in control of the newcomers as well as her own, then the flying type was content, even reluctantly, to abide. It was only the colony pokémon's pride that would have prevented that, and Tarla thought herself lucky being able to shelve it without a problem. Especially when she and others needed aid.

"Very well," the rhyhorn began, looking to the fallen eeveelution upon the ground. Her expression was unreadable as she looked, eyes at half-mast, before she turned her attention elsewhere. "We will comply." Before the altaria could light up with relief, she added, "But you must agree to follow our counsel at every turn. If we tell you to walk a narrow bridge, you walk a narrow bridge. If you must leap across a ravine..." She turned to Tarla, switching from a somewhat condescending voice to one hardened with seriousness. "You jump."

"Ravines and bridges?" questioned the dragon and flying type, and the rhyhorn nodded. "Underground?"

"Yes... I was right," the pokémon mused to herself, staring at the altaria through disapproving eyes. "Your inexperience rules out any possibility that you are Rokonts. Unless, of course, you are staging it."

Tarla decided to keep her beak shut, somehow not interested or willing to acknowledge just how powerful and experienced each member of this mysterious syndicate was and simply nodded. "I'm relieved to see that we finally agree." She readdressed the most recent statement, adding, "None of what you have seen is staged." She moved her head tentatively toward the flareon and watched as the rhyhorn also laid eyes on her. The truth was relatively clear.

"Thunderquake!" boomed one of the woken rhyhorn, startling several pokémon in the room. The rhyhorn looked to him and addressed him with a questioning face, a little unfazed by his rage. "What are you _doing_? These pokémon blemished our land!" The room fell silent as the other rock and ground types began to listen. "Even if they are not Rokonts," he continued, spitting the last word with contemptuous disgust, "they still pose a physical threat to us."

"Wait a minute," Etire began from a little ways behind the rhyhorn, who looked to him with a sneer. "We've just been sorting this out. We've had the clear and we're good to go. You're not entitled to spoil the agreement now."

"They are fine, Jaskore," Thunderquake told him simply. "Any trace of suspicion has been denied existence." She moved her glare to the altaria and granbull. "Or, rather, mollified."

"Leader, you are making a grave mistake. These pokémon are strangers. Outsiders." He looked to her with such seriousness that Tarla wondered if he had dreamed something ridiculous about them in his period of unconsciousness that confirmed some sort of evil intentions. He took a step forward, his voice filled with wariness. "They cannot be—"

"Do not question my authority again," Thunderquake boomed, her composure completely intact and her voice powerful.

She looked to him with a face nearly blank but tinged with unquestionable authority. The reciprocating rhyhorn watched with a face that clearly suppressed his anger, his features twitching with his effort to remain in control. The two shared silent exchanges of master and servant until the lesser rock type pulled his gaze away with a grunt of displeasure. He threw his glare to a fellow rhyhorn who looked to agree with him.

"My decision is solidified," she announced, each pokémon in the cavern turning their attention her. "Does anybody else wish to oppose me?" She angled her head down with minor manipulation, showing off her large horn. As Tarla scanned the crowd, she concluded that it was the longest and densest of the entire crowd. She wondered if that alone had gained her position, or if it was a combination, or merely a recognised boost for her status as leader.

There was not a stir in the crowd as Thunderquake's eyes brushed over each of her followers, the diglett – who Tarla was unsure was part of her clan or not – also remaining silent. The female rhyhorn gave a short exhalation of satisfaction, turning herself to Tarla with the intentions of discussing small details before they were presumably to head off.

"I do," one voice echoed. There was no movement after the majority of the room turned their heads. The speaker waited as Thunderquake stared at Tarla's fluff, exemplifying her disbelief, before she inched around and lay her sights on a geodude near the rhyhorn, Jaskore, who had previous spoken up. The rock and ground type stood his ground and Thunderquake noticed the corner of Jaskore's mouth curl into a smile.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. The geodude swallowed.

"I believe that Jaskore has a valid argument," he answered. To this Thunderquake turned her whole body, looking to the herd member with a challenging expression.

"So do I," another female rhyhorn admitted and, with a snort, the leader increased the intensity of her glare. However, before she could speak, more raised their voices, beginning to lumber to the initial rebel. The numbers began to rise, to the others' horror, and soon half the herd had sided with Jaskore. Etire and Rentana, behind the wall of back-turned rock and ground types, shook nervously as they realised that they had become cut off from the others. However, they were quick to realise that a rhyhorn and two geodude to their sides had not pledged their allegiance to the rebels, and stood their ground defiantly. They backed up, creating a small shield around the two psychic types, but luckily the traitors didn't seem to yet notice their existence.

"_What _is the _meaning_ of this?!" Thunderquake roared, her demand for an explanation firm and clear. Her temper rose and quickly peaked. "I am your leader! Anyone who dares to clash their armour with mine will be banished!"

Jaskore showed no visible response to the threat, simply smirking. "My horn may be second to yours in greatness, but the length of one's horn is not all that defines a leader. My followers have recognised such."

The rhyhorn nearly choked in response, booming, "_Your _followers?!" She scoffed, clearly detesting such a statement. "Your delusions far exceed your horn's _greatness_; that is certain."

"Silence!" the male boomed, his opposition only sneering without a shadow of respect for his orders. "You have reigned as leader for too long, Thunderquake. It is time...you stepped down."

With an explosion of, "Traitors!" Thunderquake charged forwards, her rumbling steps alerting her supporters to her cause as they followed her into battle. They changed blindly toward Jaskore and his followers, the leader of which smirking with only accompanying disdain.

"Knock them down," he commanded, and the majority of his followers obeyed without a second thought.

More hoots and howls rode the air as both sides clashed, the deafening sound of rock colliding with rock coming to the Usster pokémon's ears. Rentana, Etire and the three on Thunderquake's side were trapped behind the wall of Jaskore's followers, although there were two passages off to their left, where the wall they were up against came closer to meeting one of the side walls. The psychic types realised that the rock types were completely uninclined to run, and looked closer to be readying themselves for battle. The rhyhorn swept a foot along the ground, snorting, while the two geodude slammed curled fists into open palms repeatedly, as if building strength and contemplating where to aim.

Rentana glanced around frantically, wondering if she could teleport to the opening only a little ways down. The only problem was that it was blocked by a few Jaskore followers. "Etire, do you see that passage?"

"No way," he rejected immediately and Rentana looked to him curiously, nearly startled by his abrupt response before he continued. "I'm not abandoning these pokémon. They're staying to fight for what they believe in and I feel that I need to respect that and back them up. Especially when they were willing to protect us." He stared ahead, then to the pokémon, and then back to his mate.

She looked reasonably astounded. "Etire, you can show respect without staying to put yourself in danger."

"No, it..." He began to search his mind and averted his eyes, bringing them back with a pondering expression. "It doesn't feel right to take advantage of their alliance right now, while we're obviously not under attack and just leave." He flicked his head up, like a nod that pointed up instead of down. "Look. It's three against...fifteen? That's not right," he added, shaking his head as if in sympathy. "Five is better odds."

Rentana only stared at him, unsure what to say. She wanted to tell him that he was far too injured to attack, but she greatly admired his spirit and his newfound loyalty to those that needed it, and remained simply silent. She was decided that she would follow him no matter what he decided, and if he had already made up his mind, then that was what she was going to do as well. She wouldn't have split off from him anyway; it was too dangerous to be amongst all these opponents by herself, and even if she did reach the tunnel's mouth, she would be spotted and probably overrun, or at least chased and severed from everyone else. Reluctance to go through that kept her remaining, as well as her fondness for her mate. It was not an easy task, to defy reason and stick to honour and generosity, and she would much rather have paid her tribute to logic.

While the two sides of the clan crashed, Tarla took it upon herself to visit Dusty, who was slowly being helped up by the houndoom and guarded by Azure. She cursed to herself when she saw the flareon's state, dismayed that she had to be in such a condition at the current time, as obviously that hindered them to a great extent. She frowned on their misfortune as she reached the flareon's side and began questioning the houndoom. "Is she alright? Will she live?"

The houndoom, despite his worried expression, softened for a moment and snorted. "Of course she'll _live_. It may be a puncture, but her heart's not in her side."

Tarla gave him a murky sneer as she looked the injured fire type over. "What are we gonna do with her?"

"The only thing we can do," the houndoom responded. "Carry her until we can get her treated. Unless you or the psychic types over there – who, by the way, seem to be trapped – can magically heal her."

"We'll leave it up to natural pokémon ability," Tarla responded, trying to put emotion aside. This seemed like a pokémon she wouldn't get along with, so she tried to ignore him altogether. "How bad is the wound itself?"

"Not as bad as I initially thought," he responded casually. "It'll bleed like there's no tomorrow, but it's not deep enough to do serious damage without immediate help." He swept his eyes quickly over her face. "She probably passed out from the shock more than anything. I would assume her body shut her mind down so she wouldn't make it worse."

Tarla was unsure if that was possible, but gave a nod and decided not to question it. "Good news...I think."

"At least the ice slowed the bleeding...or kept it cold or something," the houndoom muttered, eying the puncture wound, which bled with a mixture of clear and crimson fluid.

"I'm...not sure that was the best thing to do." Tarla gave a quick cringe as she imagined how that would feel and then wondered how much good it did.

Both pokémon noticed as the flareon began to stir, and with a groan and a grunt, Dusty opened her eyes. "Ngh... It hurts like a bitch," she hissed grudgingly as she lifted her head, and Tarla was marginally surprised; even if she had woken, she had almost expected her not to talk.

"Are you...alright?" she questioned after ensuring that there was no immediate danger directly beside them. The clashing, roaring and shouting was daunting, and she kept expecting someone to break away from the crowd and inexplicably decide to attack them. It was unlikely and impractical, given how busy they were with Thunderquake's half of the herd, but her mind obscured reasonability and paved a path for panic.

"I'm in a crap-load of pain..." the flareon rasped, trying to see past the tears her eyes leaked. Following the statement, she looked about, confused at the sight of the battle. "What the...? What's with the civil war?"

"A rebel is to blame," answered Zaion, and upon noticing his presence, Dusty gave a particular look. If he had been helping her then she was grateful, but she found it hard to determine what exactly she thought of the whole situation. Whatever she thought, it was dulled by the pain that pulsed through her mind and caused her to cringe. It was hard to think of anything in such a state.

**ooo**

Zaion explained the entire situation to me – Jaskore's failure to listen to anybody but himself and Thunderquake's belief in our party – and I shook my head, unsure what to think. Quickly I asked the name of the granbull, who I had forgotten, and he explained that I was "lucky" to hear it from him, considering he only knew through picking it up from one of the others who had mentioned it.

Attempting to blink out the pain, I tried to stand on my own, uttering to the houndoom to release me. However, my side rippled with pain, shrieking in response to the pressure I put on my back leg. The pain was excruciating, like some sort of freezing wave of jagged ice was slicing me in a single spot, cutting through my flesh without reserve. I knew there _was _ice in my side, but that was only part of the pain. It made it extremely uncomfortable, and in all honesty I wanted it out. The ice was beginning to burn my skin and the icicle itself was pressing against my flesh as I applied pressure. I braced myself and angled my body so the wound compressed a little, clenching my jaws as the ice slid out and dropped to the floor. The pain was odd and still uncomfortable, but I was much better off having it out.

Two rhyhorn broke away from the pack, both charging into each other as they ran to the wall I was next to, but further down. They had been braced against one another and proved that neither was stronger, so when they crashed into the wall, both were still forcing their weight against the other, the wall splitting a little as they collided with it. In response to the scene, I blinked a few times, noticing as a couple of geodude hopped back, only to rip small boulders growing from the ground and thrust them forward, as if they were being fired out of a cannon. They landed on the opposition, who shook it off after momentarily buffeted, and returned the favour by mirroring the action or by charging. I wondered what the fight could be about as I watched on, momentarily reminded of the ship.

The geodude reminded me of Roarake, who could have, for all I knew, belonged to this clan or another somewhere around these mountains once. It made me consider something: did Team Rocket sweep the wilderness in search of pokémon strong enough to take up residence amongst their rankings? It would have been tedious, but in order to form some basis for a strong army, I wouldn't be surprised. Trainers already did it, although they generally veered from the most dangerous and heavily populated areas. These Rockets, on the other hand, had no limits and didn't restrict themselves for the reason of power and overconfidence. I understood that Roarake himself had a trainer, but I had certainly seen other rock types on the ship who could easily have been wild before their imprisonment.

"We have to get out of here," I heard Azure say, and weakly I nodded in full agreement. Watching the battle before me, it was easy to determine my wish for a course of action—flee!

"I'm all for Frosty's decision," I responded quickly, and the glaceon stared at me, bemused. I gave a shrug and a particular expression, to which she only frowned, trying to figure out why I'd called her Frosty. Really it was just to give her a nickname based on her ice type qualities. "Is there a way out?" Shortly after asking I glanced about, noticing a few exit tunnels to the sides of the walls up ahead.

"I can see three from here and I know there's at least another two," Tarla added, and I gave a short nod, cringing from the constant throb of my open wound. I tried not to focus on the many other parts of my body that were in more dulled agony, but agony nonetheless.

"Can't we just go out the way we came?" I questioned, puzzled as to why we would have to take one of the suggested tunnels.

Tarla seemed to soften with realisation after finding a reason in her mind why we wouldn't do so. I imagine she simply couldn't find a reason after assuming there was one, and made a small noise of acknowledgement. "Yeah...we could." She glanced behind us; a few metres away rested the entrance. "There were other tunnels to turn off into, weren't there?" she asked, and I nodded, remembering that she hadn't been with us underground.

"Wait," Derino began, having listened to the entire conversation without interjecting at all. The others, including me, turned to him. "We are missing the psychic types." He move his stern and inquisitive glare to the battle occurring down the other end of the room. There was absolutely no trace of either of them, and while I didn't know them or their position at all, I imagined that they would probably have been a little frightened...and possibly trapped.

"We have to get them out," Tarla stated, as if it was a fact that we had already planned it. I didn't disagree, however, but obviously I wasn't in a state to walk by myself, let alone battle. The idea would have been utterly ridiculous, but I suddenly cringed as I imagined that I might have to if the battle grew worse before we could retrieve the ralts evolutions.

All at once I lit up with an idea, wondering why I hadn't thought of it beforehand. "Wait a minute," I began, and Tarla, who had been rather intent on crossing the room and attacking her way through to her friends, stopped after a few paces and turned to me, looking a little isolated as she had broken away from our group. It made me a little nervous as I glanced to the brawling rock types, but tried not to focus on them. "Why can't they just teleport?"

Tarla wasted no time in revealing to me the answer. "Etire can't use it and Rentana's not going to use it if it means only she can escape."

"But...couldn't sheteleport _with _him?"

"Psychic types have...some sort of unspoken, unofficial rule," Tarla began to answer, at first looking to be in a rush but soon changing to something somewhat calmer, yet still alert. "Teleporting yourself is like any other act. It can be used at the expense of little energy, but teleporting yourself _plus _another is far more costly." She glanced to the clashing pokémon. "I doubt she has nearly enough energy to teleport both her and her mate out of there. Even a little while is a lot, especially when crossing a path of live creatures."

I tried not to question it further, figuring that it made sense in a way that would probably never allow my brain to click in understanding, and, before she ran off, questioned her one last time. "Why can't Etire use teleport too? He's a ralts evolution, isn't he?"

The altaria sighed through the nostrils of her closed beak, averting her eyes in frustration before returning to me, her impatience louder than her words. "It's not as simple as just _using _it." She glanced to Derino before she laid eyes on Azure. The eeveelution seemed to understand her silent meaning and began to pursue her; the two raced off toward the line of rock and ground pokémon while I stood there, a little perplexed. Before he ran off as well Derino faced me and continued the explanation.

"Etire specialises in physical attack and has been too long without mental attacks, or attacks that do not involve contact with his body to another's, and thus his ability has diminished. He no longer has the ability to use many of his psychic abilities, teleportation included." With that, the granbull tore from me and Zaion and thudded toward the battling pokémon. He came upon the battle, squeezing through the row closest to us, as they were our allies, and began attacking. Tarla and Azure both stuck to more tactical means and the former sprayed the foes with her dragonbreath as she stood to the side of the crowd while Azure rained them with shards of ice.

I watched with a neutral expression, trying to ignore the incessant pain. "Uhh...so what do we do?"

"Well you can't do much. I'll just have to wait here and protect you."

I snorted in amusement with an accompanying chuckle, finding the prospect perhaps mockingly amusing. "Yeah. Right. So you're just gonna stand here and _guard _me then?" The houndoom looked at me with a particular face and raised his brow. I released my smirk and felt my jolliness dwindle. "...You're kidding."

"Look at that wound," he instructed, gesturing with his paw to the opening in my side. I glanced down to it, shrugging as I pretended its consistent weeping meant nothing. "You can't go running around with something like that."

I cringed, trying not to move as I considered his statement. "Yeah...heh, I guess not." I groaned again and progressed into a lying position, completely unsure how to place myself to cause the least amount of pain. The constant throbbing was always there, of course, but it was made worse when I strained myself.

I watched with particular longing as my teammates fought the opposing pokémon, catching specific sight of Thunderquake, who, in particular, was ploughing through the pokémon around her, trying to get to Jaskore, or who I assumed was Jaskore (as most of those rhyhorn looked the same to me). She was specifically identifiable by the rearing fire in her I so highly approved of, and I assumed that Jaskore would be easy to spot based on his repulsion to sense and reason. This told me that he was probably going to be the rhyhorn using ground attacks on a flying type.

"Get the Rokonts!" boomed a rhyhorn from within the crowd to a teammate of theirs who was separate to the rest. "Look, the injured one. She lives! Finish her off!"

"Do you really think a Rokont would care enough about her fluff to have it so full?" I exclaimed, a little astounded by their ignorance. I moved my tail, remembering again that it was _not _full. I lowered my eyes halfway down my eyeballs in annoyance and returned my cringing gaze to the rock type, my stomach constricting as a ripple of pain began to pulse from the wound. I was confused why it had started to arc up again and lay down, horrified, as the pain began to intensify and spread. I quickly wondered if it was because the ice had been taken out and it was growing warm again.

I had no time to mention anything to Zaion as the stomping, roaring, _rude _pokémon powered our way with an aim to injure. The houndoom raced forward, surprisingly straight toward the charging pokémon. I couldn't understand his actions, but was too focused on my pain to yell anything to him, and watched as he timed a leap to land on the rhyhorn's front. Instantly he pushed off, the force of his jump making the rhyhorn's head bounce down, before he flew over him. He landed behind the creature, turning quickly to deliver a sinister wave of dark energy which swept the ground until it washed over him, the radius large enough to swallow a diglett in its path and flow partway onto another rhyhorn in the crowd.

The one between us released a shriek of pain and I watched as, instead of the pokémon flying toward me with a lowered horn, he turned around, capturing the houndoom in his deathly glare and began to sweep the ground. I was marginally surprised he seemed to forget me, but figured that, when blinded by rage, there was nothing to stop a rhyhorn.

"Come on," the fire and dark type teased, his tail whipping the air as he showed a toothy grin. His bared teeth was clearly some kind of hostile challenge. I knew that card; I enjoyed mockery mingled with animosity in battles.

"You will pay for your actions!" the rhyhorn roared, rearing back before charging toward him. Zaion only gave a look that ridiculed sympathy and worked like a charm as a tease.

Up ahead, Derino was flung from the crowd and smacked into the wall to the left of the room—the one I had been trapped between when the shield was on my other side and there was a charging predator stomping my way. He sunk quickly and caught himself on the ground, his head jerking up to glare at what I was partially sure was Jaskore. I had no idea where Thunderquake had gone, and with a sudden twinge in the pit of my stomach, I suddenly hoped she hadn't been defeated by the rebels.

However, my relief was resumed when she charged from the crowd, flinging others aside, and tackled her rival from behind. He jerked away, slamming into the ground after a short ride through the air after she had flicked him off her front. "We were not finished!"

Removing my attention from the two brawling nearby, I looked ahead but couldn't exactly make out what was happening with Tarla and the others, but within the instant, my attention had shifted to something of a much larger scale.

At first I wondered if one of the rhyhorn had used earthquake, but thought again, figuring that they would have to be _really_ stupid to use it in a place such as this one, where the walls and roof could collapse. For a moment I thought it would make sense of the user was Jaskore. I thought that it must have been the case—until I witnessed the entire room express the similar confusion to what I was experiencing, and figured that the culprit must have been nobody in the room. Still, my scepticism and suspicion continued to rise as my body jittered in an undefined manner, watching as some of the geodude were carried across the floor a few steps before collecting themselves and trying to bounce off in a direction of their choice. It didn't work, however, and it was soon clear that they were the ones affected most. It quickly worsened, the rumble beginning to vibrate at a rate that nearly threw the rhyhorn off balance. I felt my wound buzz with an uncomfortable sensation and cringed.

I continued to have no idea what was going on as the ceiling, piece by piece, began to shatter. Bits and pieces fell from above, the result sometimes small pebbles, and other times large boulders. It didn't take long for the crowd to erupt with screams and calls, and they all began to separate into different tunnels on the other side of the room.

My heart was racing in my chest as I glanced frantically around, only able to see a shaky haze of stony grey and ochre. I tried to force myself to my paws, a rock wedging itself into the ground right beside me as I jumped, feeling the effects of the wound take hold as I blurted a reaction to the pain and began to limp across the room. A number of other pokémon were rumbling around, some of them charging past me to get through the entrance from which we came, disregarding me in the meantime and slamming my side, flinging me away. I ended on my back, and bellowed with pain as I rolled over and leapt back onto my paws, the thought of survival and care for my injury the only one on my mind.

Upon trying to search for a familiar face, namely Zaion, who had disappeared, a small rock struck my back leg. I ignored it, however, after catching sight of a lilac fuzz. It was racing toward me on four legs, and I realised that it was the granbull, his face determined as he came near enough for me to detect an expression. Once beside me, he hauled me over his shoulder and began to run toward a tunnel, his two legs horribly inefficient compared to how quickly he progressed on all-fours. I was rather surprised that the granbull had suddenly hauled me over his shoulder, but didn't complain; I had no other way to escape so I was going to take what I was given.

The thought of us being crushed by plates from the ceiling, which were tumbling down faster than before, was absolutely petrifying, and I hardly noticed as debris clung to the rim of my wound, some slipping inside. Despite how hard the normal type was working, we didn't make it before the ground nearby suddenly exploded with rocks, some striking the remaining rhyhorn nearby who were still struggling to escape. A gigantic figure emerged from the ground, but in the vibrations and storm of rocks, all I could see were giant blobs of silver. I could only determine that it was a steelix once it stopped as we tried to continue. A tail swiped over us and slammed into a wall, rock splitting and spraying overhead. I released a noise of panic and felt myself instinctively struggle against Derino's grip, the fear in my mind building.

I realised we were headed directly toward the exit that Tarla and Azure had taken, who had I seen disappear while Derino had been on his way over to me, and wondered if they had just…disregarded me. Not only was it a matter of saving the injured, but it was also that they had neglected me as a companion, and more importantly...as part of their colony. I under stood I was new, and perhaps that made me somewhat disposable, but there wasn't even an acknowledging nod in my direction.

No matter how prevalent the thought attempted to be, it dissipated to nothing as the steelix threw a boulder in our way, completely obscuring the exit. I screamed in shock, scrambling down from the normal type while scratching his thick hide and slamming into the floor, not thinking as I tried to collect myself and immediately raced toward the nearest tunnel, which was also blocked off by a boulder.

"No!" I droned, feeling tears of fear and angst gathering faster than I could have registered. The wound in my side burned furiously, and if I had no accompanying reason in that moment, I would have stopped to tend to it. The pain of the agitated wound was excruciating and I knew I couldn't stand it much longer. The sudden thought of failing to retain my consciousness and slipping back into a comatose-like state was newly overpowering, the shock of the thought driving me to push myself harder to ensure I was at least somewhat safer if it did happen.

The granbull, out of impulse, slammed into the side of the steelix, distracting the creature and his great bulk as I scampered across the floor, tearing at the ground to propel myself forward, my limbs aching with the sheer effort it took me to reach one or two of the tunnels not blocked by boulders this end of the room. Another rock tumbled down from above, bouncing off the wall and separating a pace away from me, fragments of the rock striking my face as I fled from it, escaping into a tunnel at the pressing demands of Derino, as he continued his attempt to hold off the attacker.

Immediately after my half tail disappeared through the entrance, another boulder slammed behind me. After thinking that was the end of it, my brain registered that the boulder was too small to jam the exit, and with the shock of horror and fear, I watched as it began to roll toward me. I screamed, dashing as best I could in my condition down the tunnel as the noise from the room slowly began to fade to nothing but silence. My legs kept racing and I was positive I was going to trip over my paws at the rate I was running when the boulder slammed to a stop once it hit a dip in the tunnel's roof which enclosed the space too drastically for it to be able to fit through any longer.

Once I noticed it had stopped, I came to an instant halt and threw myself on the ground, my heart pounding, head drowning in thoughts and feelings, and wound hammering my side. I couldn't understand how such a pain existed; it became my entire string of thoughts as I remained on my belly, groaning and tensing different muscles at once, as if that would somehow help to alleviate the pain. I came to realise that nothing would and felt myself constantly spit up blubbering cries, accompanying tears streaming down my fur and dropping off the end of stands and onto the floor.

I lay there, utterly exhausted, and wondered how on earth I was meant to continue. I wasn't even sure how to continue or where to go, and what to do when there. The festering wound was the only thing my mind would turn to, and distracting it proved absolutely useless. It was times like this when I wished I was still with Master… She would know what to do.

The fact that I couldn't reach her, that she was another impossible fantasy I could only dream of being by the side of, fighting for again, was haunting. She was my trainer, the one who raised me to be as strong as I was and who taught me morals and values…and we had been torn from one another. I had never imagined anything could have ripped us apart – not even the strength of a thousand-day storm – but this time, the winds had simply been too strong. The thought of her made me realised that it was unlikely I would even encounter her again…ever. I had been taken.

My face pressed against the ground as I stared into darkness. My body didn't move as I felt the continual pulsing of the wound, which felt as if it was climbing my body and flaring in unrelated places as well, and began to feel the other injuries I had acquired both during the travels as in the recent battle, even if they were lesser. The tears wetting my face began to cool, and I felt it puddle around my cheek. The blood from my wound was causing a warm trail down the side of my belly which met with the floor to pool, and tried to remain with my eyes closed. I didn't know what I hoped to achieve, but the moment's depression was too overwhelming. I needed rest. I needed calm.


	29. Chapter Twenty-nine: All Shapes & Sizes

**Chapter Twenty-nine: All Shapes and Sizes**

Stirring from a sleep he was due to wake from, a houndoom groaned, rising to his paws and inhaling. When he exhaled, his eyes squinted and he cringed, clearly uncomfortable on an unfamiliar bed of pebbles. Pushing himself up, he stared around, seeing mostly darkness, with a few discernible features here and there. When he looked over his left shoulder, he suddenly jolted, for a large powder blue figure obscured his vision. The quagsire looked on with a placid smile, his large paws out in front, resting against the front of his body. He did nothing but stand as the houndoom raised a curious brow.

"Well…this is a surprise." He looked away, remembering there was nothing he could accurately see, before he blinked and suddenly paid heed a recurring thought. _'Dusty…' _

The fire and dark type shot up, racing back the way he came. He heard the quagsire pounding after him shortly behind. It didn't take him more than a few steps to come to an overflowing spillage of rocks, dense dirt and similar assorted debris. He came to a quick halt and stared, completely unsure how to react. It didn't take long for surprise to set in as he found that that they way they had come was blocked off. He and the quagsire were trapped on the other side of the rock slide. The realisation was not a pleasant one, as he was less than happy to have been separated from the flareon in her rather delicate state.

He remained defiant, eyes firmly set on the pile as he compressed his jaws, starting to scrape the earth with his claws. His mind was reluctant to admit defeat as he continued to stare. His thoughts whirred as he tried to imagine what kind of state the flareon in which the flareon, mentally, must have been. Surely she would have been mulling over reasons why she was abandoned – not just by him, but by anybody else who failed to come to her aid – and, as he was reluctant to admit, may not be able to carry on. Her condition was far from enabling her to properly travel, and he worried with a heavy heart what she would probably have to make it through the caves by herself.

'_Damn,' _he thought to himself with a bitter edge. His lip twitched in a snarl, his tail flicking in agitation. _'She's in serious danger if she's on her own.' _He glared to the sides, barely able to see in the minimal light. _'Who knows what kind of pokémon could be lurking in the dark?' _

He growled at the thought of being ushered through the cave involuntarily; he remembered clearly that when he had made a dash to the nearest tunnel, his paws had stopped him and he turned on his paw-pads, trying his hardest to see over the crowd as he spotted the flareon on the opposite side of the room. He had tried to call, but the massive influx of stampeding rhyhorn had completely swept him from his sturdy stance and carried him through the tunnel with mingled shouts and surprising speed. He had struggled against the force of their shoves and runs, but when he slipped down, he was only battered and thrown between the pokémon either side of him until he was again picked up by a charging rhyhorn. One of them accidentally knocked the side of the passage before it opened up into another room and caused some of the earth to collapse from above, along with thick boulders and other locks lodged in the composition. He was sure that some had gotten trapped on the other side of the mass, but wasn't able to deduce before he was tossed aside and lost consciousness.

He hadn't seen the quagsire follow him into the cave, and assumed that he must have been caught with the charging pokémon amidst the confusion. Zaion was glad he woke to find him there, however, for he would not have wanted to find himself alone in a habitat for ground and rock types. If more rhyhorn, or any other rock or ground type, tried to attack them, he was confident that the pokémon beside him could deal serious damage and ultimately frighten away everybody who aimed them. The last thing Zaion needed was another brawl; he was positively exhausted after the exertion he had warranted and knew that the quagsire was likely feeling the same. Deciding that making conversation would be the best way to establish any kind of bond they would require for travelling with one another, the houndoom turned around and asked for his name.

The pokémon only looked back, his face unchanging. Zaion waited a moment, confused by the water and ground type's silence, until he opened his wide mouth and responded with, "Quaaaagsiiiirre."

Zaion's brow rose, his eyes widening a little as he stared with great perplexity. "O…kay," he uttered, clearing his throat. "You're either with an inability to produce actual words, or…your sense of humour is terrible." He chuckled at the start part of his sentence, holding his breath in his throat as he waited for a response. His expression was a request for the latter, no matter how horrible the humour was, but released his breath as a sigh of disappointment, closing his eyes to think. "What are you…a slow learner? Mentally challenged, maybe?"

He was only met with a continual dopey smile. When Zaion tore away from him, deeming him rather useless to try and communicate with, he heard a, "Quaaag."

Groaning with annoyance, the houndoom lowered his head, allowing it to hang from between his shoulders. "Great."

**-ooo-**

Leaning against the side of the cave wall, a figure groaned, clutching at several wounds either bleeding or pulsing with the future effects of a bruise. The pain trickled into places he hadn't realised were injured beforehand, and with an inward whine, he wondered why he had managed to escape down the passage which nobody else followed. On the other side of the small cavern sat a rhyhorn, breathing shallowly as its consciousness remained not with its body. With a soft bite of his lip, the krinar hoped that the rhyhorn was, in case, on his side and not Jaskore's. "The nerve of that guy…" he grumbled, wondering what had to have been so bad about Thunderquake. As for as he could tell, the rhyhorn was a suitable leader who was more than capable of leading a herd. He wondered why the rebels had formed in opposition of her leadership.

Tunnels leading from the room veered off into several different directions, but the way he came certainly wasn't an option. Stampeding rock types were not healthy for the caves, as he had witnessed constant falling stalactites as he had been admitted into the passage. It was only half-voluntary, too, as he had thought Rentana was following. For some reason she didn't follow, which weighed heavily on him. With nobody to support him when he walked, he knew he was going to have a hard time making it anywhere. As well as that, he knew that she would be absolutely horrified to learn of their separation.

He sighed. _'Sometimes I wish she could just…do more on her own,' _he told himself. He gazed up at the ceiling, understanding her actions, but misunderstanding why she couldn't change every once in a while. She didn't _need _him to survive. _'...At least, I hope not. If something were to happen to me, then...' _His thoughts dissipated before he could finish them.

On the other side of the cavern floor, down a slope that curled around the circular room, the rhyhorn began to stir. Etire watched and braced himself, hoping that, if the rhyhorn _was _a rebel, that he or she would simply ignore him and move on. After all, there was no point in attacking the enemy if the commander wasn't around. At least...Etire didn't think so. His eyes went wide with the thought.

Lifting himself to his feet, the rhyhorn shook off and began to glance around, spotting Etire on the top of the rise, which panned out flat for a few metres before the drop to the floor threatened anybody who came too close. The krinar watched as the rhyhorn's eyes were firmly fixed, and finally the pokémon lowered his head, beginning to stalk up the slope.

"No," Etire groaned, more inconvenienced than frightened. "What...what are you doing? Come on; this is nonsense. I'm a cripple for Raikou's sake!"

"Should that matter?" the rhyhorn grumbled, hardly a hint of maliciousness in his tone.

"Well...yes!" He raised his arm, wincing as he felt it pulse. "Your leader isn't here, so there's no need to attack me. Please? I can't even fight back in this condition. That's not a fair win."

"It's a fair extermination," answered the rhyhorn, closing in on him.

"But...why would you want to exterminate me?"

"I don't care for chitchat, krinar," he hissed, stopping at the top of the slope.

"Neither do I, usually," he responded, although the moment it came out of his mouth, he questioned it with a tilted head. He watched as the pokémon came closer and swallowed. "Hey, you better watch it. I am part fighting type, don't forget."

"Means nothing if you can't _fight_."

"Claws off," a third voice grumbled, a growl echoing through the small room. Etire, who was rather startled, glanced down to find another rhyhorn situated in the entrance to one of the passages they had a choice of going through. The rhyhorn, clearly female, was not Thunderquake, but looked about as determined.

"A saviour?" questioned the psychic and fighting type, peering down at the pokémon.

"Come on. Try your horn on a _real _target, you wuss," the female baited, turning around to wag her tiny tail at the pokémon of the same species. In response, the rhyhorn flared with fury, his body rearing around as he lost all trace of interest in the cripple against the wall, and began to charge down the slant and directly at the opposing rhyhorn.

Etire watched with interest as the pokémon clashed, their faces twisted with anger and determination; the female's included teasing mockery, which clearly enraged her opponent. It wasn't long before the rebel tossed the female aside, and she slid a small distance before aiming at him and propelling her way through the room. Instead of avoiding the attack he merely set his head down and sped forward, and the two collided again. Etire suddenly wished that he had more access to his mental ability to attack in order to help his defender and cursed as the two fought to finish on top.

A small quake shook the room with unexpected timing, the two fighting suddenly breaking off their attacks and surveying the ceiling. Etire was doing the same, panic beginning to install itself into his system. He attempted to keep it suppressed and tried mentally mapping his way out of the cave without gravely injuring himself. There had been foot holes in the side of the raised rock that he was atop, and knew he could simply descend that to the floor if he had the strength. Presently the idea was insane, however, and instead of successfully coming up with a new plan, his thoughts were absorbed by the thirst which had been nagging him for a considerable time. His tongue was drier than it should have been, his cheeks unable to emit the appropriate measure of saliva to keep his mouth moist. His throat was in a similar position, and each time he swallowed, he felt both sides of his oesophagus peel away from each other, rather than slide apart. The feeling was less than comfortable, but the ability to do anything in response was severely cut off.

"Krinar!" shouted the female rhyhorn from below, and he looked to her, surprised to find that she had broken away from the other one. He had fled down a tunnel, the same one the female had emerged from, and Etire guessed that she again wished to travel the same path, but with an extra this time. "Get down from there!"

"I can't!" he called back, and to that the rhyhorn made a face of confusion. "I'm a cripple! Half my limbs were damaged earlier." He glanced warily up to the ceiling, watching as bits of stone crumbled.

The armoured pokémon looked rather conflicted and made a move to head for the slope only a few paces from where she stood before she decided properly and rumbled up it, arriving by his side in no time. She nudged one of his arms over her head, ensuring she didn't injure him with her horn, and encouraged him to stand. Although he whined with the effort, he was able to stand and lean against her. She checked that he was fastened and they began the descent.

At one point, the rhyhorn nearly slipped as one of her front feet rolled on a few small rocks, but, with a jerk that the krinar was force forward during, she righted herself and grudgingly apologised. She and the krinar made it out of the room with little injury; a few smallish rocks had landed on Etire's pelt, and whatever struck the rock type simply bounced off with failure to cause any sort of harm. For a moment, Etire felt a pang of jealousy for a pokémon so unaffected by most attacks. He had never exactly thought the idea that his fighting moves could cause them severe damage was peculiar, when a normal hit or punch wouldn't have done a thing, until that moment. Thinking on it for a while, he came to the conclusion that fighting types had a special ability to control the force of the attack to strike what's vulnerable in a rock type, as opposed to mindlessly battering their impenetrable armour. He had no idea how accurate the assumption was, but desired not to trouble himself over such things.

His thoughts turned to other matters once they passed into another room that harboured a few different levels with edges that looked artificially crumbled – a result of the small group of rhyhorn's clambering experiments after each pokémon piled through the tunnel, Etire figured – and they blundered down. The psychic type felt rather useless as he continued, unable to properly keep himself upright and slipping down. He was caught by his helper's shoulder and he looked to her gratefully but said nothing.

They progressed, the krinar keeping himself quiet when he stood on sharp stones, until they reached a point in the elongated passage where the shaking was hardly present. Behind them, the last of the larger rocks dropped and collapsed into a stony heap, and they both sighed with relief. Etire was set down and leant up against the wall while seated, tilting his head back with his eyes closed. He panted repeatedly, feeling the dryness of his throat even more now. He sighed, discontent with the fact that there didn't appear to be a speck of water about. He only hoped they would come across some sort of underground pool.

The rhyhorn was standing a few paces away, watching the minor destruction that the passage had caused itself. She turned to the sound of the male's voice. "Where did you come from?"

Her mind didn't quite comprehend his meaning. "What?"

"You're the only one here. What happened to all the others?" he inquired, a little dumbfounded at the absence of other rhyhorn and geodude.

"The confusion drove most away, I'm guessing," she responded calmly. "I know that every pokémon went for the passage they were closest to, or followed everyone else through what they probably presumed was the safest route. I saw your kirlia friend escape through a tunnel after being ushered by a number of my kind, while you were left behind." She eyed him cautiously. "Did she abandon you?"

"No," he chuckled lightly, "she could never do that. She told me she would quickly assess the passages to deduce which was the safest before she was going to choose one for us, but once she stepped out before the entry, the others pushed her through. I tried to follow her, but the same thing happened to me, although through a different tunnel. I wouldn't have been able to walk all this way, anyway..." He glanced to his right, in the direction of the room he had previously been. "I dragged myself up the slope to avoid thugs like that guy." He nodded his head toward the passage to the next room, assuming the other rhyhorn slipped through there.

"A futile effort, clearly," she responded, bobbing her head in understanding. The krinar waited a moment before nodding.

"Do you have a clue of where we're headed?"

"Nope," the rhyhorn answered factually, glancing toward the exit. "But I have travelled these paths before. Not these exact ones, but once we get to a certain point, I might be able to lead us to the surface."

"Good to have you." Etire figured that, if he wasn't torn to pieces by that first rhyhorn, without her, he wouldn't have been able to make his way through to the next room while he ceiling collapsed around him.

She gave a neutral smile.

**-ooo-**

The hairs on the pokémon's back remained erect as she and her fluffy friend travelled through the caves, extremely alert and eyes flicking about in preparation for any sudden attacks that could be directed their way. Rhyhorn and geodude lined the walls, some up and ready to fight, others exhausted and wishing to rest. The ones that were on their bellies watched grudgingly as the two Ussters passed, and a few up ahead showed no interest, while a duo rearing to go broke from the wall and began charging. The large bird pokémon shouted warnings as the quadruped braced herself and felt a momentary rush before she built the required ice and fired it, watching as it dowsed the two rhyhorn and ended with shrieks. One of them blinked repeatedly and lost complete focus as he realised that his horn had been frozen solid, and charged blindly right past them as he eyed the ice. The other came to a halt and backed away, sticking to the wall of the narrow passage while the two passed, their backs awkwardly trying to face one another.

Walking sideways was a new concept to Azure, and as she tried to do so, her many paws continuously forgot their place and made her stumble. Eventually she resorted to walking normally while the altaria by her side waked backwards. Their combined efforts got them through to the next room, which looked to have few inhabitants, to their relief. There hadn't been a large amount in the previous room, but, were it not for their split allegiances, their combined numbers could have formed a small force—one that two pokémon, one with a number of disadvantages, were not equipped to handle.

Up ahead, as Tarla turned around to face the same direction her legs took her, Azure caught sight of a rhyhorn she recognised: Thunderquake. As she began to approach, the leader looked their way and seemed to be in the middle of indecision. The two glanced to each other, trying to decide if they should speak with her or not. "...She might know a way out," Tarla reasoned, and Azure, although hesitant, agreed. "Excuse me, can you tell us the way out?"

The rock and ground pokémon steadied her gaze warily. She broke away from the company she had been conversing with and trudged towards them. She straightened her shoulders and looked to relax a little, her plates of armour fitting nicely together. Her small judgemental eyes studied those before her. "Is your purpose true?"

Azure wanted to roll her eyes, but Tarla kept herself composed. "Yes. We have come this way because our colony was attacked by three pokémon believed to be members of the Rokont Organisation. A small party including myself left to find where these felons resided after one of the captives told us that their hideout was in these upcoming mountains." She looked up, almost as if she was about to gesture to them, only to realise they were not within her view. "We only wish to pass through and find our way through those mountains, to that hideout."

The rhyhorn considered her words, but even if she was sceptical, Tarla knew that she was not inclined to attack them after she believed their words back in the cavern. She watched her draw a breath. "It is said that they have a settlement in the mountains, yes, but I have not heard from them in a number of weeks. Months, even."

Tarla's brow dropped. "What do you mean, heard from them?"

"I use the term lightly and perhaps inaccurately," she sneered. She then averted her gaze before continuing. "I cannot begin to explain what they have put my herd through. My father, Tynor, was a great pokémon capable of many things. He was...killed during the largest battle our herd has ever been a part of. The likes of a ruthless torterra was simply too much for his bulk to handle." She trailed off, her face rather stripped of emotion as she stared at rock lining the walls. "Before then, there were regular attacks on Rumblerock, our home and the name of these parts. Members were killed without reason." She glared at the dragon and flying type, and she shivered, suddenly understanding the full blow these pokémon had taken under the cruel fist of the Rokonts. "My father wanted to put a stop to the unwarranted violence. He made an attack on their base, leaving me behind in order to keep me from harm. Consequently I do not know the location of this hideout. He and a number of the herd returned, but not without permanent scars, both physically and emotionally. Over half the soldiers he took were either killed or knocked unconscious, probably later to be taken prisoner.

"They returned for revenge, or, as my father had uttered to me as the onslaught began outside our den, they had come to _seal our fates_." The words washed down Tarla's back, erecting many small bumps in response. "...He was killed that day, along with countless friends and foes alike. The day was...an epic tragedy. The opposition withdrew merely to spite us and demonstrate their power...without the need to wipe us all out. Perhaps we were no longer a thorn in their paws, but merely a petal to be crushed at any chosen time." The rhyhorn's face remained as if she had betrayed no information, but the words spoken clearly opposed that.

Tarla was shocked and continued to look at her, a face of sympathy reflecting her thoughts. She flashed to Azure, who seemed relatively expressionless, and wasn't sure what she was thinking.

"Do you understand our reaction to your presence? Was it not understandable that we suspected malicious intent after experiencing similar things with a sinister group you could have easily been a part of?" she scoffed, allowing her brows to shape a sort of disgust. "Rokont parties are composed of assorted pokémon to cover all weaknesses and strengths. How do you think we would have reacted, given the assumption, which, as you can see, was entirely legitimised?"

The two shared a quick glance before returning their eyes. "It is entirely understandable," Tarla reassured. "...Deepest apologies."

Thunderquake only shook her head and snorted, averting her gaze. "Save them for someone who needs them."

Azure threw a look which could be accompanied by a scoff, indicating the ungratefulness of the rock and ground type, but Tarla only let her sympathy drain away. "You said...that these areas are called Rumblerock."

"Yes," she began immediately, "we are in Rumblerock Pass."

"Does that mean...this land is your territory?"

"No. My herd does not own the entire province of Rumblerock, but occupy a mere section of it. The extent was larger before...before my father was murdered." She heaved a sigh and turned around again. "You ask if I know the way out. Yes and no. My herd and I have a rough idea of a general direction, but not a specific path."

"These rhyhorn are your herd? Not...the traitors?" wondered Azure, glancing at the few in the room but remembering the larger number in the passage they had crossed through. Thunderquake nodded. "Why are half of them giving us those looks? They're on your side, aren't they?"

"Is a free mind a foreign concept to you?" she queried, her eyes accusatory as she eyed the glaceon over.

"N...no," she began, a little taken aback. "I just...thought..."

"Many of them understand you are not Rokonts. Many of them still blame you for what you have caused. I am one of those many, but I will not refuse to aid you."

"Thank you," Tarla said, giving a small nod. "It is appreciated."

"It is not from the goodness of my heart," the rhyhorn added, dipping her head and turning it on its side a little, her expression stern, as if to warn them that they had no warrant to believe they had been spared out of understanding. "If we do not help you, you will wander around this pass for a time much longer than we wish for you to stay. The closer you are the us, the more harm you can do." She narrowed her eyes a small amount. "Understand this."

"We understand," Tarla responded, nodding compliantly, as if expecting no more and no less. "Even so, any help you provide us with is still greatly appreciated. Whatever the reason you choose to help."

"Yes, well," began the pokémon, turning herself around again, "just ensure you don't attract more danger before we can be rid of you."

Azure looked at Tarla, a little exhausted, and both shrugged to one another. They could see that the leader of the herd was quite justified, but at the same time, neither of them was looking forward to their treatment on the road out of Rumblerock Pass.

**-ooo-**

My grogginess revealed the world to me as how it had been before I fell unconscious. Immediately the beat of my wound pulsed in my ears and my brain pounded in protest against the injury. I groaned at the pain, extremely uncomfortable as I tried to shift. I realised with minor horror that I was pressing against the wound, and made an effort to roll over. I knew that it had probably acquired dirt and probably a number of other nasty things that weren't going to help in the time that I had gained it to where I was now, but that quickly escaped part of my notice as hurried chatter sounded nearby. I could hear the quiet murmuring of a pokémon, and whoever they were, they were nearby.

My head shooting up, I surveyed the area, only to spot a shadow in another passage a little ways down, where a tunnel veered off. The figure was causing her – by the sounds of it – shadow to appear and then disappear, and I came to the conclusion that she was pacing. It certainly wasn't the figure of a rhyhorn, or any of the other ground types, so I forced out a breath of air and took another, hoping it was one of the colony members.

"H-hey," I called, surprised at the weakness in my voice. I coughed unsteadily and felt my breath catch a few times, trying to gain a steadier flow before I tried again. "Hey!"

The shadow stopped and I could only see the head. Obviously the pokémon was surprised by my calling, and had immediately come to a halt at the sound of my voice. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Hello?" I coughed again. "I...I need help...!"

Slowly the shadow grew until a figure rounded the corner with it, her footsteps light and slow as she came into view. I was a little surprised how defensive she looked, but all wonder vanished as I noticed how battered she was. Her white skirt, which fanned out in separate sections to create an image that reminded me a little of an ivory flower, was dirtied and a little torn, while her legs were scattered with a few cuts. Her eyes looked positively worn, but what surprised me the most as the fact that she...was frightened. When I thought about it, the prospect wasn't peculiar at all, but the look in her eyes nearly frightened me. She looked...almost mad with fear and loss.

"Are you...okay?"

"You're the flareon," she stated, her voice shaky and small. "You got that injury."

I looked at her and cringed, trying not to show any pain as my body began aching from the odd position I had formed on the cavern floor. "And you are...?"

She continued to look at me, her head jolting in tiny, tiny movements in different directions, almost as if she were showing odd signs of coldness. "Rentana."

The kirlia twitched continuously, and for a moment I was sure she was about to burst into tears. Her blinking made me wonder if she had something in her eyes, but I figured that it could have been anything. "Are you...alright?"

"No," she told me immediately, the wavering in her voice a sure sign that she had diagnosed herself accurately. She tilted her head upwards but kept her eyes on me, as if she was restraining tears, and continued to watch me. "My mate was lost."

I gave a small frown, turning myself in a way that corrected my posture. "What...do you mean?" I asked slowly, sure that she couldn't have meant that he had died.

"We were separated," she said shakily. "I...was...separated from him. He is... I don't know...where he is."

I was a little shocked by her response, unable to fathom how such a thing could possibly put her in such a state. "But you...know we'll meet up with him later, right? Along with all the others, once we get to the surface?"

"If I pray," she began, swallowing her saliva as she focused somewhere else in the room, "maybe...maybe we'll return to one another."

My face twisted with some form of misunderstanding and confusion, and I stared at her with clouded eyes. I was rather confused how she was such a wreck, for the simple reason that she had been separated from someone. I nearly snorted in amusement; not even I had broken down so heavily when I had been separated from those I treasured, and I considered myself quite emotional.

I cringed, feeling another thump of pain from my wound. It made me tense and I remembered that it probably had dirt slip into it in the confusion of the steelix attack. With a small jolt, I realised that the granbull, whatever his name had been, was still fighting it...or, at least, that's what I assumed. The gigantic creature was frighteningly huge, and the fact that he was trapped in the same room as it was positively petrifying. With a sudden sickening feeling, I realised...he may not come out of that cavern. That may have been his last battle. His last breath. The odd thing was, he saved me at his expense, a pokémon he didn't even know. For all he knew, I could have been the one to doom Luck.

Turning to the kirlia in a small burst of anger, I shouted, "Pull yourself together!" Silence followed my order, and Rentana kept her eyes planted on mine, wavering with some sort of accompanying fear. All her fear was beginning to frustrate me; if she was capable of lasting on her own, then I would understand, but she seemed highly distracted and emotionally lost without this krinar. For a moment I wondered if she was under an attract spell or something. It wasn't uncommon for pokémon to know how to execute. "You can't base your entire emotional wellbeing on this guy. He's not your lifeblood."

Her eyes, firstly full of apprehension and soon transforming into muted rage, were beginning to eat at me. I was uncomfortable under her glare. "He is everything to me!" she hissed, her posture suddenly not slumping.

At first I was a little shocked, but when I realised what I had done, I cleared my throat and tried again. "He's just a male. You don't _need _a male to survive, you know."

"I need _him _to survive!" She seemed to writhe with frustration, as if I was missing something crucial.

"No—you need your heart and your head to survive. This guy needs his as well, not yours."

"We are different," she growled, referring to me and her.

"Yes. You're not the same pokémon, the same _being_, so why would you physically need him to live?" I questioned, still confused by the notion. As far as I knew, there would be no reason why a mated pokémon couldn't simultaneously be their own individual. I certainly had no intention of 'melding' myself with whoever I ended up mated with. Paired with that thought was the known possibility that I didn't even _need _a mate to survive. So unless my trainer wanted it, and in which case I would need to be pretty close to the male, I would have no reason to bear pups. It wasn't that I didn't want to; I just had no particular interest in it for now. I would have preferred to continue travelling with my trainer than anything. I forgot my momentary tangent and focused again on the kirlia. "Come on. Stop thinking about him for a while."

We stared at one another for a short while longer, contemplation mingled with pain layering her face as she slumped and downcast her crestfallen expression. "I..." she breathed, unable to finish what she had intended to tell me as she continued to rest her eyes upon the cavern floor.

Once I hobbled a few paces past her, I stopped, the wound in my side searing. I pretended to stop only out of concern, which was half the reason anyway, and turned my glance toward her bent body. "Come on," I repeated, softer this time. "We need to get moving." When that did nothing, I added, "...The sooner we escape here, the sooner you find your mate again." She responded to that, of course, rising and righting herself on her tip-toes. She still faced the other way, however. "What was his name again...?"

"Etire," she responded immediately, finally turning to meet me. When I saw her face, I was a little surprised. It was as if she had put on some kind of mask. She had concealed the emotion she previously showed, only to display a face of focused neutrality. I was a small amount concerned when I realised that I couldn't, in fact, make out any sort of emotion at all. She had completely sealed it off.

Making a small noise of acknowledgement, I turned back, pausing before I completely faced the direction leading out of the cave. Taking another step was surprisingly difficult, and I nearly buckled over at the shock of the sudden pain the wound caused. With an inward groan, I concluded that it was probably going to start bleeding again—if it even stopped, that was. I could feel dried, crusty blood on my belly and understood that there would probably be more by the time we stopped to rest again.

Exiting the cavern, the next room opened up into a small expanse of seemingly nothing, which quickly led us into the next one, which was similar but far larger. The room stretched on for an impressive time until another section joined up at the end. There was no small passage this time; the end of the room opened immediately up to another, the likes of which I couldn't properly see from so far away. Based on the fact that I couldn't make much out, I figured that it must have sloped upwards and past the opening, which wasn't as large as the room's width and which hung down a bit, blocking my view of the next room.

Figuring there was no way to find out but to continue, I took a hesitant step into the wide-open room. I was a little confused by the cavern's appearance, however, as the ceiling was lowered to create some kind of enclosed space. It was long and wide, but the confines of the room regarding height were not at all generous. I could comfortable stand and lift my ears without problem, but I knew that any pokémon twice my height would have had trouble standing upright.

Curiously I continued, head lowered in as my leg jerked in its awkward limp each step, and surveyed the surrounding area. I was almost expecting predators to leap out from nowhere, and as I continued, the almost inaudible sound of the kirlia's feet on rock following, I heard an unfamiliar groan. Wildly I whipped my head about, turning around, until I spotted a stray rhyhorn in the corner of the room which I hadn't noticed while passing through the entrance. The pokémon was waking, so I saw no sense in lowering my voice.

"RENTANA!" I shouted in shock, feeling my leg muscles tense, which involuntarily agitated my wound. "There's—look! It's a rhyhorn. What do we _do_?" I hissed, understanding that my condition was hardly one fit for battle, and hers, although weakened in a different way, was not a large amount better. As well as mentally, I knew she was physically worn as well. The shield she had erected and held earlier must have cost her a lot of her energy.

She looked to me casually, her eyes calm but a light frown of disapproval on her face. "Pull yourself together," she smirked sourly, and I recoiled a little, somewhat amused by the words which ricocheted back to strike me in the face, but also surprised. I hadn't expected her to be any kind of cheeky, and on top of that, I was left to assume that she had used them against me because the rhyhorn wasn't a threat. However, I was yet unsure.

"But he's—"

"Not the enemy," she assured, turning to him and approaching on light feet. "Up," she commanded, and he looked at her, a little wary before leaping to his hefty feet. His rocky armour clunked together as he did so, and with eyes of fear and alarm, he watched me unsteadily. "We won't attack you," she confirmed, and he continued to stare, completely sceptical of her claim.

"But...but you're—"

"No longer fighting the opposition," she interjected, and I raised an eyebrow in response. She was seemingly keen to interrupt those who were talking.

"Wait," I began, realising what she meant, "is he not part of Jaskore – or whatever his name is – ...his followers?"

The rhyhorn threw me a stern glare. "I am not," he growled. "I was just...wary. And..." He raised his gaze to Rentana, his eyes displaying sure signs of minor guilt and a little embarrassment. However, it was all shone through a stony face.

"Oh..." I began, nearly snorting in minor amusement. "You, uh...had a fall-in."

"I freaked out," the rhyhorn stated firmly, his voice hardened by embarrassment and the need to defend himself.

"Hey, hey, I get it," I began, a grin on my face as I closed my eyes and turned away, half-tail swaying. I could only imagine his face. "We all make mistakes."

He only snorted in response. I understood. He didn't want to be disturbed. He was a lone mightyena, and I was fine with that. As well as that, I was mocking him, but I dismissed the thought and looked to the other end of the room. I was still deciding what I thought about its massive extent...it wasn't _that _large, but it would take at least a few minutes to reach the other side. I was unsure if it meant more room for freedom and more area for space around us in case we were ambushed, or whether the space was a bad thing. If we were ambushed, they could surround us with ease. It was a rather uncomfortable thought and I tried not to think of it. There were no tunnels along the walls...or very few, anyway, and although I imagined they could probably work as perfect routes for a sneak attack, I also knew that I was aware, and if it had to come to that...I could always use my flamethrower. I tried to ignore the fact that fire was weak to rock types and spending energy of any kind may have led me to even more pain.

I turned to the kirlia. "We going?" I questioned.

"Yes," she answered immediately, gracefully stroking past the rhyhorn. She proceeded without me as I stilled myself and eyed the rock and ground pokémon. He was evidently uncomfortable with it.

"What've you got to do?"

"Uhh...nothing?" he answered, and I gave a few nods.

"Well...do you wanna come with us?" In all honesty, I had my and the kirlia's best interests at heart, since a rhyhorn would be far more likely to be able to repel any enemies, and he looked to be in a fitter state than both me and the psychic type fused.

The question caught him off guard and he remained still for a moment, the kirlia pausing to turn to him, probably interested in his answer. "No."

My face turned sour. "What? Why not?" Giving him a judgemental sneer, I added, "What, you got something better to do?" I nodded in an upwards motion to the wall behind him. "Like talkin' to that wall?"

"Don't mock me," he threatened, and at the words, I just sighed.

"Well, come on. You don't have a reason."

He narrowed his eyes. "You just want me for protection."

"You know what?" I began, exhaling again and giving my head a light shake. "I don't have the time or patience for this." I whirled around and began walking up the cave again. I did _not _have any interest in more talk. Sure, I was a talkative flareon, but when that was all I'd heard – bicker and chatter – for the past while, beginning when I _woke _that day because of that stupid houndoom, I was positively sick of it. I wanted action and progress, not another argument. Zaion had explained to me that while I was asleep, the rhyhorn's herd had split in two – a party following the original leader and a party following a rebel who disagreed with the leader – _just _when things were looking like they could lead to peace. I didn't witness it, of course, but the thought that we were nearly free of the tedious battle, only to wind up with a larger problem in our paws, was frustrating beyond compare. I just wanted to be rid of these caves and back on the surface so we could hurry up and find that base.

I was halfway up the room when I turned around to view the position of the other two. The kirlia had dropped behind and began conversing quietly with the rhyhorn while my thoughts were busy having a discussion with me. I turned back, head casually low as I walked, and very subtly edged my head to the right so one of my eyes was spying the rhyhorn, who, watching me carefully, began to trudge a little faster. I flicked back, wondering if he was, in fact, following us, or if he was simply progressing in the same direction we happened to be going because there was no other path. I watched as he passed by the few tunnels lining the walls, glancing warily left and right, and my mind told me he was less than interested in veering off and disappearing down them. I understood: fear of the unknown. I too preferred to carry on in the direction of a room I could actually see.

I slowed my pace so the kirlia would have a chance to catch up much faster – or that would have been my excuse if she asked how my wound was doing – and soon enough she was but a few metres behind me, the rhyhorn a little closer in distance to her. However, I arrived at the entrance to the next room before she met up with me, and, slowing to a stop, I realised that I had been right—it did slope up, although at a rounded angle, rather than a straight slant.

I surveyed the room from where I was, noting the many rising pillars around me. The entire room was riddled with giant ledges and carved cliffs rising from the ground at great angles, although there were only a few of them. Mostly the rock formations rose far above where I could reach, either a square shape at the top, and therefore easy to stand on, or looked to be lumpy and difficult to grasp. I clenched my jaws, feeling the effects of my wound after the walk as I stood still and could unintentionally spare focus for it.

"Well that...looks like a climb," I commented, wondering where on earth I was meant to begin. With a wary face, the kirlia cast a solemn glance across the room, displaying subtle signs of caution and, I could see, some kind of hopelessness. I wondered why she was acting that way, especially considering she was able to teleport herself, but when I noticed the rhyhorn lumber up beside us, I understood. She was worried the rock type wouldn't be capable of scaling the oversized ledges and pillars. When I thought about it, I had similar trouble envisioning how he would climb, and wondered what he would be made to do. I turned to him, trying to find some solution in my mind. It was in our best interest that the protector made it through as well as the protected. "Maybe...there's another way through?" I asked sheepishly, hoping that he would suddenly reflect my hope with strength I couldn't find.

He remained silent as he absorbed the scene. He didn't seem nearly as dismayed as Rentana. "I hope you didn't underestimate my ability to climb rock," he grunted, and with a flicker of minor surprise, the psychic type and I glanced to each other with cocked heads. He didn't say anything for a small amount of time, as if expecting us to consider his statement, and then become suddenly knowledgeable about what he was talking about. I watched as he emitted a sigh. "This is what I'm _used to_. I live in a rocky place. There are high-sailing structures like these all over the place that I have to find my way up." He eyed one of them. "It's not uncommon for rhyhorn to know how to climb."

"Ooh," I began as I looked to the same formation his gaze was set upon, clicking, "I get it now."

Rentana hesitantly took the first few steps into the room and craned her neck slowly, as if the rectangular pillar before her was some monstrosity she was required to conquer...and then I realised that it was. "There are large gaps between those formations. You cannot leap across," she affirmed. We both looked to her questioningly, and I noted she was right.

I doubted that even I could leap across some of the spaces, and it was obvious that we needed to ascend most of the rocks to reach the entrance to the next room, which sat far above in the wall, a ledge before it. I suddenly wondered to myself how the surface hadn't yet begun, and wondered if we were perhaps...underneath the mountains already.

"I will find my way through," the rhyhorn told her, and although she showed no sign of protest she, like me, was probably sceptical of his comment.

The kirlia lowered her head and faced him. "Even so," she began, "the path won't be an easy one."

**-ooo-**

After trying to find a way to get back into the room they had been previously in, Zaion had given up with a growling huff and figured that the rest of his company was probably separated as he was, and probably just as lost, and would all be making their ways through the tunnels with the hope of reaching the end. He knew that they should have been close to the mountains, so emerging from them would be ideal, for once they were out, they could use their closeness to their advantage and arrive as quickly as they could.

He glanced to the quagsire beside him, eying him with particular interest as he wondered what exactly inhibited the pokémon's ability to accurately communicate. It seemed, for the most part, his brain worked cognitively, but his emotional side was not well adjusted. He had considered that perhaps the quagsire was simply not an emotional pokémon, but readjusted his thinking and concluded that it wasn't that he simply lacked enough emotion...it was that he seemed physically unable to properly express it. The thought of his emotions being suppressed in such a manner frightened him, although it would be all the quagsire knew. He probably never had much emotion in the first place to be taken away. He also wondered how many summers or winters old he was. It was peculiar that he couldn't tell, but shrugged it off, making an attempt to stop focusing on his travelling companion and start focusing on the travelling itself.

"I'm fairly certain you can understand me, quagsire... Do you have any idea where we are?" he wondered curiously, throwing his head left and right as he examined rough walls with no sign of veering off. He could see another room up ahead, but still, he was extremely curious.

The water and ground type said nothing – he didn't even look at the houndoom – until they reached the room, where he turned his head to shine his big, dopey smile at the fire and dark type. "Quagsire," he mentioned, beginning to wag his tail. Zaion blinked peculiarly, unintentionally analysing his tail and suddenly finding that it must have been useful for many things—from a swimming aide to a handy tool in battle. He compared it with his tail, and although he had always liked the fact that it was slim and easy to keep track of, he wished it did more things.

They emerged into a room that, to both of their surprises, dropped immediately downwards several metres, the part they came out onto evidently some kind of strong ledge. The houndoom was quite happy to have been saved an immediate drop, and they would have had to remain at the mouth of the hallway as simple onlookers. He surveyed the area, noting that there was a giant lake in the centre of the room. The cavern itself wasn't overly large, and estimated that he could probably run along the length of the ledge – which they had emerged onto the middle of – in five seconds per way, totalling a ten second stretch from wall to wall. However, this was only the width of the room, and he guessed that the distance from his side to the other side was at least twice that, if not a little more.

He cringed at the thought of water; he didn't mind it that much, but he preferred to steer clear of it. It wasn't something he enjoyed bathing in, but would if it was necessary. The feel of it simply reminded him of the attacks that water types used on him when they thought they had a hope of winning. Nevertheless, the thought of the feeling remained, but he was sure that he would have no trouble crossing it if they could get _down _from the ledge.

His first task was to see if there was a way to descend the ledge and end on the bottom floor, as there was no other way to continue, and gave a sigh. He figured that his counterpart would probably not be able to provide them with anything substantial, and began his quest to find a way down.

It didn't take him long, however, and soon he and the quagsire were before the lake. With another inward groan, the houndoom watched as the quagsire simply fell into the water and slipped beneath the surface. If it weren't for the subtle change in the pokémon's disposition as soon as he hit the water, he thought he might have fallen in unintentionally, or with the inconvenience of being paralysed as he entered. He was relieved when the pokémon broke the surface and began to swim around happily; the thought of having to rescue a pokémon his size when the houndoom's swimming skills weren't exactly top notch was a little worrying.

He tested the water with two toes, cringing as he slipped the rest of himself in, a little surprised as the floor suddenly dropped and his front paws shot down into nothing but water. He began to drift as he paddled, his back legs dislodging from the floor unintentionally as he swayed and bent his legs in turn, nearly faltering a few times as he quickly sneered and began to swim to the other side. It was an effort, but he was able to make it to the other side without much fuss.

The quagsire swam about, diving in and out of water and splashing about as if water was his favourite thing in the world—which Zaion wouldn't have doubted anyway. Upon reaching land, the fire and dark type shook off and searched for somewhere he could blow his fire and keep it burning so he could dry himself. Instead he attempted to heat his body's temperature.

In the middle of doing so, he looked around, spotting his companion still dipping through the lake. For a moment he was fearful that something would pop out and swallow the quagsire up, but he realised that the lake was far too small to carry something that big. He cleared his throat. "Uh, Splash," he called, "are you done?"

There was barely a response as the pokémon only paid him a small amount of notice between his dips and turns in the water, and for a while he didn't rise again. It was then that Zaion feared something may have gone wrong, but when his head appeared again, thankfully still attached to his body, he could reassure himself. Perhaps the quagsire knew the depth of the smallish lake and was sure nothing lay at its bottom. If he were to ask, however, he knew he would get an incoherent response if a response at all.

"Come on," the houndoom commanded, motioning with his head for the pokémon to follow. "We need to find the others." He began walking away, pretending he didn't care at all for the dual type pokémon, and continued through an opening in the wall that led to the next cavern.

Upon popping out, the houndoom was semi-surprised to find himself in a wide open space that had a floor riddled with stalagmites everywhere he looked. The most peculiar thing was that some towered over him at more than twice his height, but most of them were either a little taller than him or somewhat smaller. What confused him a little was their frequency; each were only a few paces from each other, forming a sort of maze. The thought itself was hindering, as he knew he would have to navigate with his mind instead of his eyes. However, he did have the advantage of smell on his side, which he decided he would prominently use.

Voices made him instantly freeze. At first he was lost for direction and identification of the voices, but as he stood, surrounded by the protruding rock formations at the entrance to the cavern, he could hear them nearing. He deduced that they were echoing from his left, and figured there must have been another opening in that general direction. He didn't dare approach, however, as he continued to hear the nearing voices. He glanced around to the quagsire, who had pulled himself out of the water moments ago and shook off, and glared at him with wide eyes. Warily he crept away from the entrance and hissed a warning.

The quagsire approached the opening with the houndoom and stopped to listen. Zaion was well aware that the quagsire was taller than him and would likely outmatch a good number of the stalagmites in height, and clenched his jaws in anxiousness as he wondered if he would soon be sighted. Yet, when the voices continued and the quagsire emerged into the room in a leisurely pursuit of the sounds, he knew that it wasn't involuntary sightings that he had to be worried about.

"Hey!" he hissed, lowering his head. His shoulders came up beside his jaws. "Quagsire, stop! What are you _doing_?"

Despite the calls from the houndoom, the ground and water type pokémon didn't stop at all. He didn't even turn around as he began to effortlessly and loosely navigate his way through the crowd of stalagmites. Angrily Zaion thought to turn away and shoot back the way they came, or fling off to the right, but he knew that both options were not exactly ideal. Besides, even if he was the one instigating the trouble, he didn't want to leave Splash alone. If he met with those pokémon, they would surely find a reason to attack him, especially if they were on the traitor rhyhorn's side. On top of that was the fact that his fire type moves would do nothing to a rock type's armoured hide, whereas Splash's water was a more than suitable means of attack.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes closed while his body very slowly leaned in a few directions before he gave in with an inward sigh and began sneaking after him, his leg motions fluid and somewhat awkward in order to keep him low. At the same time, he gauged how far away the pokémon speaking were and used it to judge how much he should project his voice to the quagsire. "Come on, buddy. You have to stop," he insisted. When the quagsire still didn't listen, he thought of something else. "If they're rock and ground types then..." He trailed off, understanding that the quagsire had a type advantage in two areas, but feared that a type advantage alone wasn't going to save their hide.

Deciding it was still best to convince him to retreat, he hurriedly captured a few more paces and calculated the action before latching onto the creature's tail. Even though he ensured that his bite wasn't hard, the quagsire suddenly yelped and swung around, taking the houndoom with him for a short period before the tail passed a stalagmite and the houndoom's side slammed into it. He dropped like a bundle of slaughtered prey, and it was in that moment that he thought not about pain, but about accidentally attracting the unwelcome visitors.

Instantly the pokémon froze in their tracks and questioned the noises. They, just as he had expected, raced along the ground, the harsh thud of rock on rock as they powered their way, certain to appear from within a few stalagmites and begin to tear the place apart in rage. He groaned and lifted himself to his feet just as a silver rocky creature came into view, revealing itself to be a rhyhorn, just as he had expected. The creature turned her enormous head upon the sturdy shoulders towards them and stood still, surveying them over a few times. Zaion was convinced she was about to charge, but was surprised when the quagsire suddenly began to wag his tail.

Zaion watched as Splash weaved through the stalagmites loosely and came upon the rhyhorn, stopping before her and remaining still as his tail still swished. It wasn't long till, to his surprise, a familiar face hobbled into view, rather aghast at what he saw. He looked first to Splash and then to Zaion, and they frowned at one another before the houndoom started nodding his head slowly and began to approach.

"Although I don't know you well," the fire type started, eyes on the white and green pokémon, "it's good to see you here."

"You too," the krinar responded, more shocked than anything. He let his surprise fade as he introduced the rhyhorn, whose name was Maka, to his fellow colony member and the houndoom, who he had only seen around on occasion. Maka nodded to each, briefly explaining her course of action: to lead Etire out and find her way back to her clan. "Always good to come across someone who's on your side," the psychic and fighting type chuckled, and Zaion nodded slowly.

Expressing his response, the quagsire took a few steps before enveloping the injured Usster pokémon in a strong embrace. The krinar made small sounds of protest as Splash hugged him, but it soon wore off, and the pokémon was once again freed.

"I suggest we keep moving," the rhyhorn announced, swinging her head toward the other end of the room. It passed the wide opening in the wall that Zaion and Splash had come from and looked to rise with a few complicated ledges they would need to scale, but overall Zaion figured it made sense. If they been travelling to the left from the entrance, he would have been confused and objected, but considering that, emerging from where he had been, the trail continued on his right, all made sense in his mind.

While they passed the opening from which Zaion and Etire had come, the houndoom was quick to mention the lake, in case either of them needed a drink, so they took a small break to drink before Etire dipped himself in, keen to wash off any blood and cool any burning wound he may have still been suffering. When Maka questioned the lake's random appearance, Zaion remarked, "I think it travels from some small hole in the wall hidden under the surface or something. One that would be big enough for it to flow through."

"Well...what if the hole is big enough to fit through?" Etire asked, wading calmly into the water. Splash dipped in and out around him, constantly popping up. "Maybe it'll take us to where we need to go. I mean, it would have to come from the surface, right?"

Maka and Zaion looked to each other with hardened hesitation. Both glanced distastefully to the water and resisted, each taking a step back or leaning away from it. "I'm...happy to follow in its general direction on land," the rhyhorn confirmed. "Besides, I'll sink in water. Many of my kind...have died by falling into lakes and deep rivers." The others stared at her with relative horror, except Splash, who continued to obliviously dip in and out. "Well...oceans not so much for two reasons; the first being that salt makes us much lighter, not that it prevents us from dropping straight to the floor anyway, and the second that no rhyhorn would _want _to live near one. That's not where these formations generally are." She angled her head and surveyed the room.

"And I thought I had it bad," the houndoom remarked, giving a light chuckle that was more nervous than anything else.

"Ah...yes," the krinar simply responded, then, in the middle of keeping himself afloat, turned around to the pokémon whose attention seemed to be focused completely elsewhere. "I guess he would have told us if there was an underwater path we could follow." He looked up, catching Zaion's raised brow and eyes with eyelids halfway down. Etire was unsure what he was making the face for before he shook his head quickly, as if remembering something, and corrected himself. "Well, you know; not _told us_ 'told us,' just...told us. With arms. And...grunts."

"Grunts," the houndoom repeated with a strong tinge of amusement that was close to mockery.

Etire scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean!"

"Uh...I'm not getting any of this," the rhyhorn interjected, unintentionally excluded.

"He doesn't talk," Etire clarified, deciding it was time he emerged. As he began to wave himself towards the edge of the lake, Splash rose from behind him, his large, goofy smile plastered to his wet face.

"Quaaaaag!" he gurgled, flecks of water jumping about at the back of his big mouth.

The rhyhorn cringed with amusement and gave a small chuckle. "I think he's adorable."

Etire made a noise of clear disagreement mingled with distaste as he placed his arms carefully on the rocky ground. "Yes, that's the term the females use."

"What's wrong with it?" she asked.

"Nothing," Etire snorted in amusement, not looking at her as he hauled himself up into a seated position. "It's just what the females use."

Zaion chuckled with agreeing amusement as they both looked to one another while Maka stood, a little confused by the whole thing. The rhyhorn only released a sigh.

**-ooo-**

"So far she hasn't _commanded _us to do anything," Azure uttered, prowling beside Tarla as she directed one eye to the rhyhorn behind her. She kept her head low and only angled it just so, and knew it wasn't enough to be seen by her target.

Tarla too turned her head with her elongated neck, proceeding to bend over and 'preen' a cloudy feather or two before returning to normal, under the impression that keeping a watchful eye was a wise choice in such a circumstance.

"Is that not fair?" they heard from Thunderquake, who was discussing matters with a few of her fellow rock and ground types. A few from the passage the two had passed through before meeting with the rhyhorn herd's leader had emerged and pledged their allegiance to the rightful leader, as they referred to her as, while many of them remained behind. Tarla assumed they were either gathering their strength and waiting for a suitable time to attack, or they were simply reluctant to move on when the one they betrayed was so near...as well as some of her followers and, more importantly, an ice type.

Azure had offered to seal the tunnel with ice, but Thunderquake declined her offer for two reasons: one being that she was reluctant to anger the issue even further and demonstrate that she harboured no true dignity, and second that a block or sheet of ice would be useless against their heavy bulks. They would be able to shatter through it with a number of tries, depending on how thick the ice was. Azure was a little sour at the notion that her ice was hardly effective; Tarla understood her frustration as she continually glanced at her crippled wing and sighed, wondering how long it would take to heal. She hoped it was only bruising and a sprain, rather than a snapped bone. Aemara could tell her when they returned, but she resenting having to wait so long.

It wasn't long before they came upon another wider cavern. It was painfully dark, and the duo, entering first, were required to wait as they stared into the inky depths of the room until details they hadn't previously been able to detect smudged into existence. It was fairly large and although the ground up ahead was exceptionally dark and there was some eerie chill about the place, the altaria swallowed her apprehension and strode forward, the glaceon tentatively following.

It was only because there was rush of air that shot from the ground and blew back her feathers did the altaria stop, angling her head away as she grimaced in distaste. Azure, barely paying attention, bumped into her from behind and jumped instantly away before she realised it was only Tarla. However, before the glaceon could question her friend's actions, she paused and blinked several times. In the minimal light, she could make out only ground...which then disappeared.

Curiously she wandered up to the edge, where the ground seemingly disappeared, and rolled her paw pad on the edge. She slipped her paw slowly downwards as she leaned, bending her back legs and applying the most amount of body weight she could on them to ensure that she wouldn't topple over forward and fall down into what appeared to be some kind of...nothing. The ground had been removed. With a rush of alarm, she realised that it was an absolute drop down to someplace far, far below.

"Tarla..." she began, her voice a little weaker than she hoped for it to be. "Don't...move..."

A zap of shivers suddenly scaled her back as she ceased all movement but the frantic beating of her heart and her curious eyes, which rolled toward the glaceon, chancing movement with her head to face her. "Wh...why?"

"Put your foot out. But don't put weight on it," the smaller of the two commanded, hearing voices from the cavern they had just been.

Extending her leg, the altaria began to stretch out, running her foot along the rough ground before there was something that felt like an edge. She quickly confirmed her assumption that the ground suddenly vanished. "A chasm?"

"One that extends across both sides of the cavern," the glaceon confirmed, referring to the walls on the left and right. She stared down below, shooting tiny bullets of ice without particular force. They plunged into the darkness and vanished. Not a single sound of shattering managed to reach their ears as they waited in silence before flashing looks of alarm, which were hardly visible in the blackness, to one another. Azure bounded off to her right, travelling alongside the chasm but ensuring she was at least a few paces from it before stopping once the wall came into her face. She turned toward the abyss and, unable to see to the other side of the empty space, squashed her cheek against the cold, stony wall before she fired more ice shards. She watched them travel with the wall for a time before they lost momentum and sunk, also disappearing without a sound to follow.

In her amazement, the altaria hardly realised she was so close as she moved to the edge and peered down, unable to make anything out. Her foot edged closer to the cliff, and she reached down, wondering if there was a ledge just below ground level, but realised she was wrong. In the midst of her awkward position, she suddenly jerked, the pain from her wing pulsing to life as she angled it awkwardly while distracted. The abrupt movement stole her balance and the altaria shrieked as she instantly filled with dread.

Before she panicked, the pokémon broadened her wings and beat the air, sure she could easily overcome any kind of drop before her bad wing cried out with a splitting pain and she roared in agony, realising with horror that it left her to fall. In the split second that she began to fall, her foot about to lose any connection it had with the floor, impossibility flashed through her mind. She was a flying type, and she was condemned to fall to her death. It was both inglorious and frightening, as she knew not how far she would be falling at all. The sense of fear was far greater than anything she had ever felt, terrified she had been denied the precious wings that had always given her security. For a flying type to fall to their death was the most shameful death of all.

Suddenly her foot felt as if it had caught aflame as it halted in place, when her bad wing simultaneously fired up with a painful sensation as it was pulled and tugged, the altaria ready to struggle against whatever caused it. Despite the strength of the pain and the extreme discomfort it caused her, she realised that it had stopped her from falling. She couldn't move her foot either, and as the searing iciness began to shoot up her leg, she realised that it was, in fact, ice.

"FLAP!" screeched the glaceon, her mouth full with feathers as she applied all her weight to her back legs, leaning back and resisting against Tarla's mass. In spite of her desperate attempts, she quickly began to slip toward her. It wasn't enough.

A flock of thoughts soared through the dual type's mind before she realised her comrade was referring to her good wing, which was under her, and furiously and frantically she began to force the air under it to retreat and return, elevating her as a result. With a burst of a realisation that it was working, she ignored the pain in her wing as best she could, cringing as she worked her wing even harder. Finally she was upright again, but with a feeling of fright, discovered that she couldn't actually move out of the way of the cliff given that her foot was trapped in ice. Azure still gripping her bad wing, the altaria, although in a blubber of pain and discomfort, bent over and drilled her beak repeatedly, shattering enough ice to slip her foot out from her ankle.

The two flew backwards, tumbling on the floor and halting in a tangled heap. Tarla was more in shock and fear than anything as she and her friend heaved with the effort, and remained there until Azure helped herself up, her breathing steadying again. "I _told _you...not to put your weight—"

"That's not how it happened," Tarla snapped, and Azure guessed she was more intent on nursing her pride than her wing. She was not to know, however, as the altaria rose and allowed the wing to drape over one side and meet with the floor. After a moment more of silence, she looked to the glaceon. "...Thank you for...saving me."

Azure looked back, studying the altaria's face as she detected streams of draining fear. "It's...fine," she responded, looking away. Both pokémon laid their eyes on the horror that the absence of light had made all the more dangerous and inhaled deeply. Tarla strongly regretted her foolishness while Azure tried to convince herself that she was not to blame for encouraging the pokémon to do such a thing, but the two did not speak of either matter.

"We'll have to warn the rhyhorn about this," Tarla concluded, and the glaceon shook her head, even if in agreement.

"Yeah, but...even if we tell them to steer clear from it...how do we cross it?"

The question repeatedly rang in both pokémon's minds. There was obvious there was no bridge from their side to the other, and without Tarla's ability to fly, not even she was capable of crossing. As far as they could tell, the question had no answer.


	30. Chapter Thirty: Between Stone and Soil

_A/N: I'm dearly sorry it's been so long. I never meant to leave this story hanging for so many months, and I really regret it. I'll certainly be writing more of this soon; it deserves way more of my attention than what I have been able to give it._

**Chapter Thirty: Between Stone and Soil**

Telling someone that climbing those pillars and ledges was difficult would be a massive understatement and for it, I deserved to be flattened by a rollout. There was not a single slope or block that I didn't find extremely awkward to scramble onto using only my own strength. I had considered the fact that the rhyhorn could always use his massive head armour to throw me up, but that would have been a stupid idea given the fact that I could easily have hurt myself landing, or part of my legs could have slammed against the edge if the toss was miscalculated—or worse. I myself could have slammed into the side of a tall block if the throw wasn't powerful enough.

Nevertheless, I needed not to worry of such a thing as the kirlia offered to use her psychic powers to lift both me and the rhyhorn. However, the amount of energy she spent on each mental lift was nearly equal to half the amount of energy it would have taken to lift us using her arms, or at least, that's what she told us. I was glad it was only half; I couldn't imagine that she would have been able to lift us at all if the full weight was converted to the psychic effort. Apparently it helped if we thought "light thoughts" since it was a mental operation, and so I resolved to thinking of a hoppip each time. I didn't know why that would have helped, given I could have thought of a grain of sand instead, but for some reason my mind always wound back to a hoppip. Nevertheless, eventually – but slowly – I made it to the other end of the room. The ledge I was on, from which several others protruded down below, was against the cavern wall and had the entrance to the next room directly behind me. I couldn't see a thing while looking through, however, and figured that when the others caught up, I could use my fire to illuminate the path.

"You coming?" I asked, watching as the rhyhorn carefully trekked along a narrow slant. He wasn't far away, but the kirlia, trailing shortly behind him at a very leisurely rate, looked less than capable of lifting him another time. It was a little worrying, however, considering he would need to be lifted at least another two times until he reached my ledge. Unless, somehow, she could magically lift him with her mind and send him across far further than she had previously been in one go. I doubted she could do that.

"It's not...as easy...for me...as it was for _you_," growled the rock and ground pokémon, and I gave a shrug, figuring that his previous claim that he could scale rock easily was somewhat inaccurate.

"Shall I take a nap then?" I stretched, beginning to get comfortable.

"Can you stop being such a brat?" the rhyhorn grumbled, his patience clearing wearing thin.

"But look how much it's affecting you. It's kinda fun. And hey, if anything, it takes your mind of the _hard work _you're doing." I gave a shrug, tucking my paws under my mane.

The rhyhorn uttered a few words of resentment and came to a stop, glancing about. He turned back to the kirlia. "Are you okay to...send me over again?"

She trudged up behind him, arriving within a pawful of seconds. "Just...give...me a second," she rasped, dropping to her hands and knees in order to breathe. I watched with a small frown of concern and hoped to myself that she wasn't going to have to stop there. I was eager to get going.

"Rentana," I began, pausing to make sure that was her name, "you can rest once both of you are this side of the ledge." I questioned myself after I had spoken, wondering if I really had the right to instruct and persuade her like that. "Well, just saying...that would be more convenient."

The kirlia probably thought my idea was a good one, and one she had obviously considered prior to the voiced suggestion, and I hoped she was going to make it a reality. "I will...try."

Eventually she got him across one more chasm, but the strain it looked to put on her was far more than I previously thought. She could teleport herself over with little problem, as she either couldn't lift herself with her psychic powers or chose to teleport because it may have been easier, and to that I was relieved. However, she still had one last chasm-like space to cross with the rhyhorn.

Realising it may be bad if she tried to push herself, I interjected, "Wait...wait, don't you think it would be a good idea to rest first? You're exhausted, clearly, and I don't think overworking yourself is going to help."

She threw a determined glare at me. "We...need to get across...as soon as possible."

"Yeah, but if you _drop _him halfway through, you'll never forgive yourself. It's far too much effort to bring someone up than across, right?" I retorted, and she gritted her teeth, probably recognising that I was right.

She heaved a sigh and sunk into a sit, her knees meeting as her legs lay on the rock in opposite directions. Without looking at the rhyhorn she told him, "I will just...wait for a moment, then...before continuing."

The rhyhorn, obviously a little agitated by her idea but understanding it, made the decision to remain standing. "How long will that take?" he questioned, and she looked up at him.

"Until...I am rested enough to levitate you across." The kirlia grew a minor look of concern as she realised that the rock type was less than content with the decision.

"But we're stranded here," he protested, and at that I rolled my eyes.

"If she tries to carry you across now and you _drop_, who are you going to blame? She wants to rest and you want to keep going. It won't be her fault, and it'll be a whole lot longer before she'll be able to lift you all those times again over the rocks, as opposed to waiting a little longer this time." My face was etched with a frown while I looked at him, and he heaved a sigh and snorted.

"Okay, I get you."

He stood while we both sat, and it was a fair few minutes before Rentana got back up again and was ready to transport him across. "Okay...ya ready?" I called without much volume, and the psychic type hesitated before nodding. She raised her arms and began her rhythmic breathing before she exhaled again, and the rhyhorn began to float. With a considerable amount of strain and effort, as if she had forgotten how heavy he was, the rhyhorn slowly made his way across, glancing down at the room's floor, which was a fair few metres down. I saw a flash of nervousness cross his face before he was finally let down on my side, and the kirlia fell to her knees with a series of pants.

The rhyhorn looked happy to have solid ground under his rocky legs, which suddenly made me thankful as well. I got the feeling that he was a little too proud to thank her, but on the inside, he was certainly grateful. It would have been relatively impossible for him to make it so far on his own – despite what he had earlier claimed – and therefore it was extremely useful that the kirlia could help on such a large scale.

I rested my eyes on her, watching as the effort seemed to weigh her heavily down. For the first moment since she had started doing this, I felt a legitimately concerned for her. "Hey...Rentana? Are you alright?"

She winced, trying to control her breathing, and bound her eyes. She gritted her teeth and exposed them as her lips stretched, clearly suffering somewhat from the effort she had just applied to such a difficult task.

"Y...yes, I am...just...a little..." She drew a lengthy breath, stilling herself for a moment as she stared at a particular mark on the ground near her arm, which supported her as she leant on her knees. Her other arm was situated on her head, and slowly the other one came up as well when she leaned back, supported by her kneel. She pressed her hands against the side of her head, as if trying to dull the swelling inside. I guessed that was a very possible scenario. "I'm alright," she responded, getting to her feet and closing her eyes. Instantly she vanished and reappeared right before me, and I jumped back in surprise. "Sorry," she uttered.

I cleared my throat. "Anyway...we should keep going," I suggested, and the other two nodded in turn. "Uhh...good job, Rentana," I complimented, but before I waited for a response, I walked through the tiny tunnel leading to the next room.

Bizarrely, the following room had a slope leading down to the floor, which was completely covered in holes and bunches of dug-out burrows. For a moment I was confused, but it became clear that they were nests, and most were inhabited by pokémon. I froze at the top of the slant, unable to identify the pokémon for a minute before my eyes adjusted probably. Given the fact that flareon were occasionally nocturnal, our eyes were able to adjust well to the darkness, and even if I could have used my fire to better see my surroundings, I knew that disturbing sleeping pokémon in _their _territory was less than wise.

As the other two came up beside me and the rhyhorn began speaking loudly, whom I proceeded to shush, I realised I could make out the figures closest to us. They were scattered across the floor with barely any space between them, and the nest construction was completely tactless. My mind wound immediately back to the colony, and how astounded I had been when I first saw their huts and houses, and in comparison, these pokémon's method seemed excruciatingly primitive.

As I slowly padded forward, reaching the very edge of the rock before it angled to the floor the crude nests were spread across, I could see that the pokémon were an odd shape of a faded yellow colour. No limbs were attached to their bodies, but two tiny white wings rested on their backs, and their round heads had rings of blue around closed eyes. The tail was peculiar, as it was shaped like a drill similar to that of what a beedrill has on the end of its arms. Only, these pokémon's tails looked useless and composed of regular flesh, as opposed to anything that could _actually _bore through something solid. Overall, they were a strangely designed elongated blob with miniature wings and odd tails. It was immediately apparent to me that I had never seen one of these creatures before, and frankly, I couldn't figure out what type they could possibly be.

Slowly edging my face away from the creatures, although still keeping an eye on them for as long as I could before I met the kirlia's gaze, I asked, "What _are _those things?"

"Dunsparce," the rhyhorn responded, a little amusement to his tone. I wasn't sure if it was directed at the creatures themselves or at me, who lacked the knowledge to identify them. However, it was clear when he added, "They're harmless."

My brow tugged, a small amount of confusion shaping it. "Wait...actually? Like, their attacks are about as effective as a magikarp?"

The rhyhorn took a breath and responded, "If _that_ strong."

The answer took me by surprise, and I shared his amusement as I scanned the room. The renewal of any lost confidence to cross without trouble was instantaneous, and with a grin, I figured that the task ahead would be easy. "Alright, well, let's go!"

I stepped down the slope quietly, unwilling to wake the pokémon in case they _did _have hidden tricks none of us were aware of, and simply because I had no desire to intentionally wake them. I knew how annoying it was to be woken when you really didn't want to be, so I avoided doing the same to them—even if I didn't know them or have much reason to concern myself with them. Once at the bottom, I turned my head and raised my brow, daring the others to follow. The rhyhorn only smirked and followed, sure not to slip down the slant, before the kirlia took a series of breaths and also warily followed. It occurred to me that she was the most hesitant of us all, and I made a quick suggestion that she should ride atop the rhyhorn, but his rejection was clear, and I only huffed at him in response.

We stepped carefully between the many nests, which consisted of shallow dips in the ground filled with dried grass for comfort, and the pokémon were generally flat against them. A few of them were coiled, and I assumed that was either for protection of comfort. Whatever it was, it amused me, as their tiny wings stuck up and remained there, as if they were fruit on display to be picked. I didn't touch them though, and instead we kept walking.

"This is easy!" I exclaimed in a whisper, my head over my shoulders. The rhyhorn barely looked where he was going and the kirlia was much more careful with her movements, ensuring she didn't step in any of the potholes that the dunsparce lay in. I nearly asked her how she was doing, but decided against it and focused on the path ahead.

In the midst of walking through, I felt myself stand on something. Quickly I retracted my paw, leaning back on my hind legs for support, and deduced that it was, in fact, a wing of one of the pokémon. I hadn't meant to step on it, obviously, and for a moment I was confused; how could I have stood on a wing? The answer was clear as I realised that the pokémon had been one of the ones coiled, but it rested on its side, so its wings lay out of the nest's borders, one against the ground.

I gritted my teeth as it began to screech, waking instantly, and turned my head as if it would protect my ears from the sound. A sudden eruption of similar cries from around me sounded as well, and the pokémon began to uncoil. The ones already straightened opened their odd mouths and continued their screeching, and quickly the piercing noise became nearly unbearable.

Not a moment too soon, I wrenched myself away from the pokémon and raced through the room as it slammed its tail down, making a reasonably sized indent in the solid ground. I watched it as I ran, wondering quickly what the rhyhorn and Rentana were going to do, and suddenly I found myself throwing my gaze in assorted directions against my will, the world tossing and tussling as pain suddenly struck me.

I tumbled along the ground, skidding and shrieking with the intense pain that awoke once more in my side, and already felt my fur moisten with fresh blood. I tried to gather myself, groaning with the effort, before something slammed into my spine, forcing me back down and agitating the wound even further. Again I bellowed, unable to grasp the situation before I forced my eyes to the right, where one of those creatures was. I could only see its rear and the mound of its back as its drill-like tail reared, and with a sweeping feeling of alarm, I tried to scramble out of its range, only to be hit on my shoulders by the same thing, but to my left.

I was nearly winded as I struggled to get back up, in extreme discomfort as my side wound pulsed with the previous intensity it threatened me with, and tried with all my might to scramble away.

With the relief of a hundred stranded finneon suddenly returned to the ocean, I heard the crash of the tails behind me, keeping my eyes on the road ahead in case more of them threatened to squash my body parts. To my dismay there were, and I noticed with a feeling of imminent dread that just about _all _the opposing pokémon had banded together, and were pounding the floor with their strangely solid tails.

"I'm sorry!" I shouted, attempting to calm them as I blurted out the apology, but the screeching, still high-pitched and extremely disturbing, was far too loud; I could barely even hear _myself_.

Suddenly I remembered the others and wound my head around, spotting the rhyhorn looking to attempt to protect Rentana, who had obviously been given permission to jump on his back. The tails barely affected him, it seemed, and upon witnessing the good news, I focused on my own path and powered on. The wound leaked with painful consistency, and with continuous groans and whines, I felt tears dripping from my eyes. I felt utterly horrible as I continued, regretting the stupidity of my right paw as I remembered that it was to blame for standing on one of the pokémon's wings.

To my surprise, some of the dunsparce, while others continued to bash needlessly with their tails, reared up on their back-ends and began directing their screeches straight at me. I continued to watch them, frantically throwing my gaze left and right to avoid missing anything, and came to spot one such pokémon with its eyes _open_. The shock nearly threw me off balance, and as the tiny pupils pointed themselves at me, I felt a wave of shock hit me like something tangible. Instantly my legs froze and I literally felt myself falling with no way to brace myself, meeting the rock with unwelcome force and bouncing along the ground with stiff limps and a flapping half-tail, unable to do anything to prevent further injury to my wound or any other part of my body. I couldn't even call out.

When I rolled to a stop, I found myself able to use my voice again and cried out at the top of my lungs, as my body had landed on top of my wound and it was pressing into the ground. It felt as if it was as bad as it had been when the flesh was first torn, and I wished I could do something to aid it as my vision began to fuzz. A rush of air blew onto my face as a tail slammed down right before my nose, and I cringed, squeezing out tears and whining with the pain.

When my eyes opened again, I saw with shock that a dunsparce flew across the room and into my line of sight. At first I thought it was his or her own doing, but they were tumbling through the air, as if someone had just thrown them, before crashing into a group of other dunsparce. Alarm knotted my brow as I wondered what on earth had happened before another one soared into view and slammed into the ground not a few metres from me. The surrounding pokémon were distracted by the sudden landings and all turned their bodies, and I was extremely thankful for the momentary distraction. I still couldn't move, however, and struggled to wiggle my toes or even move my head. Some of the screeching ceased, and I realised that the rhyhorn was grunting and growling. It soon struck me that he was bowling them into the air after crashing into them, and although I couldn't see, I could tell he was getting closer.

By the time he neared, the ground was rumbling, and suddenly I was picked up. I had no idea what was happening as I soared behind the rhyhorn in my stiff state, until I noticed an odd glow surrounding my contour.

At that moment, I realised I was being dragged behind them, courtesy of Rentana, who was using her psychic powers to lift me. Although I was still paralysed, the psychic energy surrounding my body made me feel as if I could actually move, and after another ten or so seconds, I felt that I could finally wriggle my toes. Tyring my hardest to move my head, I craned it around, cringing at the wound that would bother me for a long while to come. _We were only halfway through the cavern_. "Oh, great..." I uttered through tears and a blubbery voice, which I tried to clear several times.

Not long into the odd voyage, the dunsparce suddenly stopped their attacks. The rhyhorn continued to power through, however, a little concerned as he wondered – as well as I, and probably the kirlia – why the pokémon had stopped their assault. My first guess was that they realised that their feeble attacks were useless against a _rhyhorn_, a creature with armour and one that was barely affected by normal type moves as it was, and decided to stop. It seemed as if they didn't choose another action to replace it with, however, until suddenly a tail on one of them began spinning rapidly. Once the tail was pointed toward the ground, the earth around it began to break and a hole was quickly bored. It was then that I realised the ground wasn't as hard as I thought it was, and was actually compact dirt, which was a perfect habitat for these creatures whose tails...clearly _did _allow them to burrow.

The creature disappeared, snaking and then vanishing quickly. Suddenly all those around us began to do the same thing, and soon, I was sure the entire _room_-full of dunsparce were digging, and one-by-one they disappeared. The whole room looked like it was shaking – and probably was – although it was hard to tell while suspended with psychic energy. Frantically I searched the room, trying to ignore my wound, for anything that could indicate actual danger. All these pokémon were fleeing...so it seemed they had given up hope. _'Well that's kinda typ—'_

Suddenly the rhyhorn's front leg, while he was running, became lodged in a tunnel created by one of the pokémon who had fled before we reached them, and the kirlia jolted and flew off, causing me to do the same thing. She accidentally released her mental hold on me, and I dropped like a dead fly, landing roughly on the ground beside her and grunting in pain. I was only glad I landed on the opposite side to the one the wound was on, although it still hurt like hell. Flicking my head back around to the sound of the rhyhorn's cursing, I noticed in shock that the holes, given that the pokémon were longer than the rhyhorn, were big enough to capture his foot, as well as part of his head, and it was clearly difficult for him to remove himself.

Rentana got up from beside me and padded weakly over, always on the tips of her toes, I had noticed, and stood beside the rhyhorn's head. "Do you need any help?" she asked, but the rock and ground type only growled and attempted to lift his heavy face from the hole again. It was rather useless, however, and he was clearly having a lot of trouble. Rentana repeated her question, and as she stood confidently, I was glad that she didn't endure any serious injuries upon meeting with the ground.

"N...no!" he grumbled, but I shouted in angry objection, and it was clear that the kirlia sided with me on the matter.

"I'm going to help you," she told him, and took a deep breath. I couldn't see from behind, but she probably closed her eyes as well and formed an expressionless face. Despite the rhyhorn's protests, the psychic type continued, and used her mental power to lift his head from the ground, aiding him as he pushed, and eventually he popped out and he was nearly sent bowling over backwards. He steadied himself appropriately though and instead stood noble again.

"...I didn't need your help," he grunted, angrily stomping past the psychic type and heading my way. He didn't meet with my eyes as he approached, and nor did he as he walked by.

"Manners," I blurted, a little incredulous at his rudeness. I shook my head with a notable frown and passed the expression to Rentana, who moved her mouth a little, but other than that, she didn't show signs of more expression.

She began to walk my way, and it was then that I realised I would have to get to my feet and walk as well. Even the idea was painful, but even so, I knew I had to do it. I wrenched myself off the ground once she passed and trailed slowly behind, a heavy limb impairing my back left leg as I avoided putting proper pressure around the wounded area. The pain ate at me like a ravenous totodile whose jaws released only to gain a better hold. I continuously released pent-up breath in sections and intervals, cringing the entire way through the cavern. It was eerily quiet after all the tails had stopped slamming and the screeches faded to nothing whilst they drilled away, and the sheer number of holes in the hardened earth was nearly as astounding as the fact that the rhyhorn barely slipped another time. I assumed he was taking care not to endanger himself or inconvenience Rentana – as she had spent more than his share of energy on him and would likely continue to aid him whether he wanted it or not – and therefore, he managed to avoid them for the most part.

Once we had crossed the cavern, despite the small hardships I encountered along the way (such as nearly entering a hole myself), I felt relieved. I was still in severe pain, of course, but luckily I was able to block some of that out with the help of sharp rocks that prodded my paw pads and my bullet wound, which also pulsed. Even if it was annoying to have more than one active wound, it was good to be able to take my mind off it even just a little through means of distraction.

"So..." I cringed, trying to wait for a burst of pain to clear as I rested before carrying on. "...What about those creatures again? _Not _dangerous, I heard you say," A fleck of anger swelled in my mind before I threw my glare to him. "Are you freaking deluded?"

"Don't blame this on me!" shouted the rock and ground type, immediately arching up at the accusatorial comment.

"Yeah? If I can't blame you then who am I supposed to blame?" I questioned, wincing as I accidentally jerked my body and felt my wound pulse. "When there's no _risk _of danger, I don't usually take care to avoid it."

"Don't be ignorant! It was that foolish attitude that made you set off the entire swarm!" he rumbled, lowering his head. The kirlia sat against the wall, resting as she was involuntarily subjected to our bickering.

"It's called a _mistake_," I hissed, unsure quite how to defend myself in that instance.

The rhyhorn eyed me with condescending confusion and cruel amusement. "If you tripped by _mistake_, then how does the information that they are or are not dangerous going to affect that? You would have screwed up regardless."

Realising he was right, I merely glared at him before tearing myself away, storming toward the entrance to the next room as best I could in my condition. Moving too much caused my wounds to once again screech with discomfort, and I felt my breath catch in my throat, forcing me to stop walking. With extreme reluctance, I stayed on the spot just before the entrance, taking note of the next area: it was a simple tunnel. It was darker than the dunsparce cavern so I knew I would have to light the path with flame, and just the thought of having to do so was enough to make me groan. I was already injured, and using fire would only accelerate the pain I felt and drain the energy I needed to recover.

I tossed my angry but guarded look to Rentana, wondering feebly if somehow her psychic powers could heal me in any way, and pondered how that would possibly affect her ability to heal. It didn't hurt to wonder, however, as I certainly _was _in need of healing. Without someone who could do that, I felt lost for what to do. I stood on the spot, contemplating the very few options laid before me. I couldn't go _back_, and even if I could cross the room with slopes and blocks of enormous height to get past the barricade of fallen rocks blocking the entrance back to the room where the rebel rhyhorn turned on the rest of its herd, I would either run into more predators such as the massive steelix that originally drove us all out, or get completely lost in the underground maze-like tunnels. My choices were totally limited to the path ahead, but before I could think more on that, I focused again on my thoughts of the steelix.

After not a moment longer to mull over the thought, I snapped around, regretting injuring my wound yet _again_, and glared at Rentana with accidental over-enthusiasm. At my odd expression, she seemed a little startled. "The granbull...the steelix!" I blurted, unable to remember the granbull's name and unsure how to word the rest. "They were in the cavern when it collapsed. The granbull...he made sure everyone else was out alive and he stayed behind the fend the creature off. But what...happened to him?" As I continued staring at her, she only blinked a few times, her shocked expression still showing. "Aren't you worried for him?"

Rentana gave a light frown. "Not at all," she responded, and to her remark I was utterly confused. I protested about the type differences and how the granbull had a huge disadvantage, but she stopped me before I could finish. "The steelix, Undol, is the colony's friend."

I stared with whirring thoughts. I blinked a few times and my expression dulled to one of pure perplexity. The kirlia's look was soft and hesitant. "...What?"

"Ya deaf or something?" murmured the rhyhorn, and I snarled quickly at him.

"But-but...wh... Uhh..._okay_," I started, still trying to get a handle on this strangeness. "Then why was he attacking everyone?"

The kirlia blinked confusedly. "He...wasn't attacking anyone."

"That's certainly inaccurate," I retorted, remembering his sweeping tail over my head. "He tossed his gigantic flippin' tail at me and..." I tried different subtle movements with my mouth before I gave up on trying to remember his name. "...The granbull! And why'd he try to block off all of the entrances?"

My curiosity must have been either annoying or intimidating, but she showed no sign of reacting to either as she thought about my answer for mere moments. "I assume he showed up in the first place because the fight between the halves of the rhyhorn herd was out of control, and, well, he lives there so he probably didn't want his home to be destroyed at all, and similarly, he does not want an outbreak of violence. The tail could very well have been a mistake as he was turning around, and perhaps he blocked off the tunnel entrances so that the separate parties of enemies couldn't return to the room and resume fighting, or pursue the enemy through another tunnel."

"Yeah, I...guess that makes sense...but when me and the granbull were the only ones left in the cavern, he still blocked _my _path! And then I was told to run, so what's up with that?"

"Does she _look _like an alakazam?" the rock and ground type shot from the other wall, and I sneered at him, not bothering to credit his speech with a response.

The kirlia looked as if she waited until she was sure nobody was going to speak before she addressed my concern. "Perhaps he wanted you to remain in the cavern so he could help with your wound, if he had any means of doing so," she said, and to that I froze.

"...What?" I went through my mind, detailing my experience since then and how my wound had worsened due to the actions I took. "But...the boulder he threw could have _crushed _me. And..."

"Maybe Derino told you to run because he thought you should catch up with one of us, so you could leave the tunnels quicker, not knowing why Undol was blocking your path. It's possible he even attacked him to gain his attention, as sometimes the steelix has trouble hearing, especially in such a loud environment. Similarly, he would have first tried his tactics to gain your attention before speaking, which would be why he did not stop to address you and explain himself. That is his way."

I stilled myself, processing her words and shaking my head slowly. I couldn't _believe _this... The pokémon who I figured was my enemy was actually trying...to _help_ me? I found the prospect unbelievable. I didn't know what had happened or why he attacked us...and I dearly hoped that he didn't want to help me for fear of feeling like an idiot for not realising, but also hoping that he was, in fact, friendly as the kirlia explained. If he was, then Derino, as she mentioned his name was, who would, would be okay.

Biting my lip, I turned away and strolled towards the entrance to the tunnel. I peered through and spotted nothing but a passage, silence overcoming me as the wound burned with consistency and my spine reminded me that it was also injured. I assumed I had countless other wounds as well, but I wasn't ready to address them, and nor were they imperative enough to gain my attention. Discovering how much suffering my body was enduring would probably only make matters worse in the current situation, as I had no way to help them.

I stared into the growing darkness of the passageway, hoping that it was cooler than the room we had just traversed. Perhaps the cold would help to soothe my pain.

**ooo**

After a long discussion with the small group of rhyhorn, Azure and Tarla had come to the conclusion that the best and most appropriate way was _not _to collapse the ceiling, as some of the more ambitious – and, as Azure thought, unintelligent – rhyhorn suggested, but for the glaceon to project a rather flat bridge of ice across the enormous opening to the other side of the room, where the land started up again. When discussing where the void could possibly lead, Thunderquake had suggested that it probably ended somewhere in a large room deeper underground, possibly where one would unfortunately have immense trouble getting out of.

Although the bridge had been wide, it was more than difficult for Azure to produce. She didn't permit herself to use a simple move such as ice beam to craft something that needed to firstly be level on top, but also wide enough. Instead she had to launch ice shards into the other side of the wall which was used to support what she planned to lay on top. Icy wind helped to chill the air, and it was only then that she used ice beam to create a solid bridge, first lining the far cliff and then extending on it until it finally met with the rock face she was standing by. It was not entirely flat, but she believed that the imperfections would serve as foot holes and small barriers. She was asked to make walls for it, but her energy was rapidly depleting, and was hardly able to make a short "fence" in either side.

It was a popular request that she test it, and although Tarla had been extremely wary and worried for her, she made it across without slipping. Tarla assumed that her paw pads were specifically designed for icy terrains, as she had perfect traction the entire way across. When the bird pokémon herself had gone, she found that her toes and claws were extremely slippery and she had to use her right, uninjured wing several times to steady herself, understanding that she could only begin falling to the right, as her injured left wing could not save her if she toppled the other way.

Eventually all that were coming with their party were able to cross, although awkwardly and not without losing one of the geodude. The rhyhorn often went too slowly to fall, and although the glaceon had been excessively afraid that one of them would prove to be too heavy for her makeshift bridge and splinter a weak point, the ice had been solid and stiff, and if only one rock type passed at a time, there were no weight problems. The geodude, however, had been unable to grip the edge and merely slipped straight off. The thought continuously haunted the ice type as she trudged solemnly alongside her fellow colony member, traversing a tunnel that supposedly led somewhere useful.

The tunnel had come a room filled with low-set stalactites, and they were each forced to weave between the points and avoid being pricked. Azure's shoulder suffered one such injury, and a few times, a rhyhorn had to smash one of the hanging stone pikes in order to fit past. Tarla was always nervous when it happened, as she was irrationally afraid that every spike in the room would come crashing down. Some of them were short and easy to pass under, and it was those ones she grew wary of. Luckily no such thing had happened, and they instead curved with the room to the right before popping into a tunnel that they knew was directing them somewhat east.

It wasn't long before the passages exampled that they had a mind of their own and began to split into several side tunnels which chose assorted directions, and the group of around twelve pokémon weaved their ways through the maze-like arrangement of tunnels before, finally, they had come into a rocky pass that bore a small pool and boulders. The walls were rippled and the floor was scattered with imperfections in both forms of lumps and indents which varied in sizes. There was an odd glow from somewhere which illuminated the passage in an odd florescent green glow, and although Azure and Tarla had no idea where it was coming from or how it was green, they assumed that perhaps a light source from somewhere had moss covering its entrance, or maybe that was the colour light became underground.

Finding it a pointless waste of thought, Azure shook her mind from it and tried again to focus on something that didn't remind her of the geodude incident. The imagery was clear in her mind: the rock type casually sliding himself across the ice, using his arms to propel him when he put his hand down to push himself, but the rock merely slipped, and he jerked to one side. His body simply bumped over the small side fence Azure had tried to create, and frantically he grasped at the bridge's edge. His hands slipped anyway...and he dropped straight down.

Nothing could impede his fall as he vanished through the void in a mess of desperate requests for help. Nobody in the cavern was able to do a thing, however, and although Tarla was blamed for not flying after him, Azure knew that even if she could have flown, the weight of the geodude's body possibly exceeded her limit. She knew that she herself was heavier than a geodude as well, and if she was the one who slipped, then the altaria might have been unable to save her too. Then again, she did not know the extent of the pokémon's abilities. Nevertheless, the rock and ground type was not seen again, and she could only imagine that the pokémon could have split when he came in contact with the ground, however far away it was. She felt it natural to blame herself, although she heavily resented such feelings, and tried to convince herself that there was no way to cross and the geodude was the one at fault. As the hours passed and she failed to be rid of the guilt, she wondered if it would ever leave at all.

Simultaneously, she dared the thought that perhaps she didn't deserve relief. However absurd the thought may have been, she questioned it seriously. Thankfully she stopped paying the issue attention when the cave took her, and she examined the walls with notable interest. Tarla was showing a similar level of curiosity as they both scanned the walls and approached the pole, eagerly lapping up the cool water once they deduced that it was safe. Halfway through, the group began to swarm to where they were, obviously interested in drinking some for themselves. After Azure and her fellow colony member were finished, they began to travel on, wondering what lay beyond. Azure quietly wondered to herself if they were close to the exit, but had no interest in exchanging conversation with the rock types. Luckily she didn't have to.

"Um," Tarla began, trying feebly to get the rhyhorn's attention. "Does a room like this mean that we're close to exiting the tunnels?"

Thunderquake was the one to look up. "It does not take one sign to determine that," she grunted, and then returned to her water.

Tarla raised her brow and moulded it into a frown before facing Azure again. "Apparently they don't know."

The glaceon turned away, less than interested in what the rock types had to say. She observed the walls surrounding the pond, which dipped in and thus was a small half-cylinder before the walls levelled out again, and observed the rippling mint reflecting off the surface. It was almost enchanting, and as if the walls themselves were made of water. It didn't take long before she tore away, however, and looked to the end of the room. She tried scenting the air for any hint as to how close they were to the mountains, if that was even possible, but, as she expected, nothing came to her nose and she was left to clench her teeth in angst.

She was tired of being cooped up underground, even if it had been less than a day, and dearly hoped that she wouldn't have to spend the night inside it. She could only imagine that odd creatures would emerge from their sleeping spots and attack. As she glanced to the shaft of light peeking through a hole up above, the length of which was quite long, she questioned whether or not they would be able to see once the light was completely blocked out. That alone was reason enough for her to want to escape the underground maze-like prison, and she was already beginning to miss the smell of grass and the fragrance of flowers. On top of that, she was growing hungrier, and she craved meat, the likes of which she hadn't tasted in days.

She felt herself begin to shake with the thought of spending the night in the tunnels or caverns; she found it suspicious that they hadn't run into any predator pokémon already, and wondered if they had been lying in wait the entire time, ready to strike but waiting for the right moment. All the while, their beady eyes were fixed on their group, laying a large target on their backs in their ignorance. Because of such feelings, she constantly turned around and checked behind, hoping there was nothing there but realistically being unsure.

She flicked her head up beside her, where Tarla stood. She was tall and proud, and somehow, being significantly taller than her gave Azure reassurance for some type of safety. Relaxing, she breathed a sigh. "Tarla, I...don't know how much longer I can take this."

The altaria glanced to her, an expression of bored contentment splashed across her face. "What do you mean?"

For a moment Azure was hesitant to admit to fear, or even anything that she was unsure about, and was about to blow it off when she responsively blurted, "The caves make me anxious." The way her mind had chosen to word it for her, she figured, wasn't too bad, so she left it how it was.

She waved a suspicious glance about. "I'm not too fond of them either. I can't understand how anyone can live down here." She didn't meet the glaceon's eyes as she surveyed the room in dissatisfaction. "No fresh grass, not enough light...no trees..." She gave her head a brusque shake. "Well, at least we know where to come if we ever have to dispose of any bodies."

The glaceon turned to her, a little shocked, as the altaria casually reassigned her line of sight to the glaceon. The quadruped's eyes were questioning enough and Tarla needed no longer to chortle and respond that she was only joking. The glaceon, normally aware of when words and phrases were serious or not, was confused at herself for taking the bird pokémon so literally. Embarrassed, she tore away from her fellow colony member and approached the entrance to the next tunnel, which, in comparison to the lit room, looked as shadowy as a gengar.

A little agitated, the ice type whirled around and addressed the rhyhorn from across the room. "Are you planning to break any longer?" Before allowing them to respond, she quickly added, "I think we should get moving as soon as possible."

"What's the rush?" a rhyhorn questioned, his face moulded by the patient befuddlement that riddled his tone.

"We are in no way interested in delaying your dismissal, glaceon, but taking the time to rest could ultimately save you the trouble of wounds you would have acquired if you were too weary to otherwise avoid." Thunderquake only looked at her while speaking and then decided to return to the pond. "Resting is a tactic."

Azure snorted, gritting her teeth. She couldn't help but wonder how quickly the sun would be sinking soon, as the rays of light shining though the hole were of a faint orange hue, and soon strengthened in colour, bouncing off the walls and mingling with the green to create a strange brownish colour in some places. She seethed at the thought of remaining in such a dank and despicable place any longer. She was growing more and more nervous, imagining actually getting wounds and being unable to find treatment for them. Immediately she thought of Dusty, and feared a wound like hers. It looked horrendous, and the glaceon found herself willing to do nearly almost anything to avoid such a fate.

She felt an odd sense of calm suddenly flow into her as the altaria followed past her and sat her fluffy mass beside a wall, right near where the entrance to the next section was. Azure searched for her anxiousness where she thought she would find it and only dug up a little, hesitant to reach deeper in case she uncovered more than she could handle, and stood, watching the sitting pokémon. Around her, the odd emerald light untouched by orange cast a blanket of colour on her which did not match her pelt at all, and the walls, looking almost moist, were probably going to make her feathers glue themselves together.

In the midst of the unconscious observation, Azure realised that, amongst all the unfamiliarity, the altaria was someone she had known for years. They never particularly spoke to one another, but their respect for the other was mutual, and for that the glaceon was thankful. They shared a general colony bond, but even that was enough in a place so frightening and questionable, and she was suddenly grateful to have the altaria by her side.

Breathing calmly through her nose, the glaceon padded leisurely to the flying type and lay beside her. Tarla flashed her a stiff smile and the glaceon summoned one in response, understanding that the gesture was probably made to encourage comfort. She had never known that side of the altaria, but she was just glad it existed at all.

When the rhyhorn deemed it suitable to start moving, Tarla and Azure were more than happy to move off at the same time. Azure had grown impatient and resolved to taking a nap, although she knew that Tarla kept herself awake, and had been woken when Thunderquake made the decision to press on. She wouldn't have waited for her if she didn't claim to know the way out, or understand a vague direction in the least, but considering she did, she knew she would have to suffer the wait until they were able to move off all at once. She had complained a little to Tarla, but knew the altaria was hardly interested in discussing it, and for good reason, she assumed.

The tunnels they travelled through and the caverns they spilled into didn't differ much from one another, and, in fact, Azure thought they looked the same. Tarla briefly agreed, although she was able to differentiate a little better. Thankfully they came across another pool of water that dipped out from under one of the cave walls and they managed to drink from that, and although Azure wasn't sure where it had come from, she assumed it was probably a part of another lake.

It was obvious that it had become nighttime when they finally emerged from the caves. Azure beamed with joy and scuttled about the place, having emerged into a tiny clearing which was surrounded by rock of great height about her. It was surprising to see that there were more caves around her, and as she observed them on her left and right, she realised something. They weren't completely out of them yet. The only paths to take were ones back through tunnels, and with a heavy heart and newfound disappointment, she groaned, flopping down on the ground and resting her chin upon the thin grass. When Tarla emerged from behind her, she didn't bother looking back.

"Come on, Azure. It's not _that _bad. Take it in and then we'll keep going."

The glaceon only huffed and remained still, clearly uninclined to move at all. "I don't wanna."

Tarla pressed her break together as she heard the rhyhorn from behind draw nearer. "The sooner you get up, the sooner we're out outta here. I don't like these rotten caves either!" She craned her neck, feeling a little strain from the wing. "Bird pokémon aren't meant to live underground." She kept her head still, watching the clouds pass by before they were blocked out by the walls of rock. As much as she hated to admit it, the underground caves and tunnels only reminded her further of the fact that she was incapable of flight. A flying type would never once consider life underground, unless their other type warranted them to, but the thought of making a home beneath the surface disgusted her. She wasn't sure how _ground _types did it, let alone her kind, who were not at all designed for such a thing.

Azure, seeming not to notice a shred of her colony mate's pondering, gave a sigh and slowly pulled herself up. The rhyhorn shortly caught up to them and passed them, and at that, the glaceon felt herself growl. She knew she had caused that, and told herself that she planned from then on to focus. As the altaria had stated, the sooner she got going, the faster she would get to the mountains. "We're already in the mountains," Azure added, for some reason only just registering the information for the first time.

Tarla slid out of her thoughts and gave a brief nod. "That's what I meant. If we keep going, we'll escape the caves quicker and pop out somewhere else. Judging by the fact that we wound up here, in the middle of this small clearing _out _of the caves on this cliff, I'm going to say that the tunnels from here on out will be much shorter than the ones we just crossed through."

The eevee evolution considered her statement and agreed before setting off, the altaria behind her. The latter lingered a little longer to absorb the sight of the sky and yanked a few strands of grass from the ground to swallow before she moved off.

**ooo**

"Do you think we're getting any closer?" questioned Etire, who walked between the group of four pokémon. When nobody responded, he narrowed his eyes a little. "...Anyone?"

"I don't know," Maka sighed, clearly failing to rely on memory. Instinct was another thing, but it seemed just as unreliable. "If we just keep walking this way..."

"Well this better end soon," the houndoom grumbled, fitting behind the rhyhorn and krinar as he attempted to keep his balance. They were crossing a narrow bridge with water on either side, and judging by the rank smell, it did not have anywhere to flow. It had properties that frightened off even Splash, who didn't dare enter, which was also concerning. He had screwed up his face – the first sign of proper emotion Maka and Zaion had seen on him before – and refused to enter it at all. The rhyhorn and houndoom had no initial interest to enter anyway, so they ruled out the possibility even before they knew how wretched it smelled.

"Does anybody know what's actually _wrong _with it?" Etire questioned, clearly out of ideas himself. Zaion lifted his head with a particular expression.

"Really? You can't guess?" he chuckled, a little baffled by the pokémon's inability to understand. When Etire shrugged, a little offended, and tried to back himself up by stating that he wasn't a genius and was better with his body than his mind, Zaion gave a small snort of amusement. "It's infested with faeces. You know...crap."

"_What_?" the krinar questioned, stopping to turn around and express his bewildered expression. He felt his cheeks redden, clearly embarrassed by his failure to pick up on it. "Uh, well...umm..._whose _faeces?"

"Whoever lives here," the houndoom responded, and although he hadn't meant to be ridiculing, he noticed that it was exactly how his words turned out. "Look up there," he advised, indicating the endless opening up above them. "It's some giant space from the floor above, however far away that is, where pokémon clearly live. This water has nowhere to go and nowhere to come from, so it sits here, infecting itself with whatever gets dumped in there." He cringed at the thought of his mental image, and tried not to illustrate his words.

"That's disgusting..." Etire groaned after some thought, and Zaion raised his brow with a few nods.

"No kidding."

Suddenly a whooshing sound met their ears. With alarm, Maka froze, causing those behind her to halt as well. Splash stopped last, being at the back of the line, and stood placidly while the others looked frantically about. None of them spoke as the sound grew louder, and it soon became apparent that something was falling from above.

With a flick of shock, Etire spotted some sort of tiny dot which expanded until it was nearly upon them. As he stared up, watching it approach, he realised that it was about to fall to their right, narrowing missing them, and land in the pool. Gritting his teeth and calling out in surprise, he watched as the boulder did just that, plunging into the water and creating an enormous wave to rise from its depths and loom over them.

All four let loose a cry of surprise and discomfort – except for Splash, whose call was a happy "Quaaag!" – as the dirty water splashed over them all with a powerful force. Splash, Etire and Zaion tumbled off the ledge and into the water, the latter two gasping for breath as they fought to remain above the waterline. Splash disappeared below the surface and rapidly tunnelled his way to the other end of the pool, leaping out of the water and shaking off on land. Etire struggled, his style of swimming inadequate and unable to keep him properly afloat, and was evidently weighed down by the consistency of the water. The houndoom managed to make his way to the shore and haul himself up, shaking violently as he fought to rid himself of the disgusting substance caking his coat.

"A little...help!" Etire gurgled, keeping his mouth shut afterwards. Zaion glanced at him, highly uninterested in going after him.

Maka's attention was placed elsewhere, however, as she stared into the pool on her right, where the presumed boulder had fallen. Her heartbeat was rapid as she searched the waters from above with her eyes, unable to see past the floating muck which had separated in places. "Help, guys," she began, somewhat desperate. She whirled around to Zaion and Splash, the former of whom a little surprised at her reaction.

"He can get out himself," the houndoom responded coolly, glancing quickly to Etire, who was slowly floating to the edge with a knotted brow.

Maka's eyes widened in some form of outrage. "Not _him_," she began harshly, gesturing to the pool she was turned towards. "The geodude who fell! He's probably _drowning _in there!"

"What?" Zaion questioned quietly, his disbelief prominently showing. "A geodude? ...Wasn't it a—"

"It wasn't a boulder, and doesn't matter why he fell," the rhyhorn shouted. "What matters is his survival, and I can't go in there after him or I'll suffer the same fate."

"So will I," he answered roughly, completely unsure how to resolve the problem. Tentatively he turned to Splash, who was watching the situation with subdued contentment. He had no idea if Splash would listen to him if he told him to swim in after the geodude, or even if he would make it back up to the surface, and made the decision to try anyway. "Splash, you need to do what I say." He glared at the quagsire, who didn't even face him. His hopes of conveying a message, and before the geodude drowned, were beginning to dwindle. "You need to go in after that geodude. He'll drown if you don't; you're the only one out of us who can swim properly, and if you don't think you can do it...you can at least try."

He held his breath and stared at the quagsire, who still only just stood in place. When Etire shouted out to him, finally at the shore, the quagsire didn't meet his eyes. Maka was beginning to feel desperate as she dug her claws firmly into the ground, her large jaws compressing and her eyes fogged by the unease and fear she felt for her fellow rock type. She had explained the nature of a situation entailing a rock type in water to her travelling companions earlier, and shook her head firmly at the idea that someone before her might have to live it. It was a reality she had never seen, only heard about, and instantly she knew that it was a reality that was closer to being real than she had ever expected. Before now, it had simply been a tale – a horrifying one she didn't doubt the credibility of – and had not imagined it would happen to anybody she knew.

Time was running out, and the rhyhorn could do nothing but stand and stare. "Splash..." She flicked her head to him, and to her surprise, managed to catch his eye. "He'll _die_."

For an unspoken reason, the quagsire's mouth closed and for the first time, Maka saw a flash of emotion. He frowned. Following his frown was his quick blunder to the waterhole and then his disappearing form, hardly splashing water as he entered. The krinar, who pulled himself ashore from the other side of the pool and yanked his feet from the water, glanced to Zaion, who was staring, shocked, at the pool to his left and the rhyhorn's right. He couldn't quite fathom why the water and ground type had listened to her at all.

Maka hardly appeared surprised, but was instead focused on what lay before her. She waited in anticipation, the same as the others, for the result of Splash's endeavour. She hoped desperately that he would reappear with the boulder-like pokémon in his hands, and suddenly wondered how deep the pool was. If it was too far down, Splash might not have been able to lift the geodude to shore. She remembered, however, that everything was apparently lighter in water, and hoped that the aid it could give would make it notably easier.

A few seconds later, the quagsire emerged, the geodude in his strong paws' grip. The boulder-like pokémon was immobile and his limbs dangled from his body. The only sign of hope she had was his closed eyes, figuring that if he hadn't made it, there was a chance his eyes would have been open. As she watched, the pokémon was laid upon the shore and Splash hauled himself out, shaking off and sprinkling the nearby ground with dirty droplets. The houndoom stayed back for that very reason, and presumably when he deemed it safe, he raced to the rock type's side.

"What's the status?" questioned Maka as she neared the geodude, speaking specifically to Zaion but allowing room for anybody listening to respond. That was only the krinar, who hobbled over shortly after.

"I don't know," the houndoom blurted, unsure how or what to diagnose. He tried examining the body from the outside, but a physical state was yet undetermined.

"Does anybody know what to do?" Maka asked a little desperately, hoping there would be a sudden suggestion or knowledge for what to do. She had no idea what specifically she and the others would do for him, but figured that, in time, they would either learn or...accept whatever fate may befall the stranger. She nudged him with her nose, acknowledging but trying to ignore the stench that wafted from his solid form, and rolled him over. His arms flopped lazily as his mouth separated, and she cringed, noticing some of the disgusting waste water trickle in through the sides of his mouth.

Wasting no time, the houndoom drew his head back and summon crackling flame before expelling it from his jaws, dousing the geodude instantly. The response was not immediate, but Maka's shock was, and before she could tell him to call it off, the rock pokémon began to stir and slipped from his unconscious state with coughs, splutters and an absent set of waves from his arms.

"What!" was all he managed, his eyes looking about in confusion. The fire cleared from his sight and he began to absorb his surroundings. His reaction was to straighten out his arms, his mouth ajar with surprise before he hopped a few paces away, in the direction the mob was heading. He quickly realised that there were rises in the earth further on, and understood that he was unlikely to escape in the event that he would need to.

Maka, noticing his response, captured his glance and spoke to him slowly. "We won't harm you, friend."

The geodude watched her intently, scanning her up and down before stopping on her eyes again. "If you do, then you're stupid." He waited a moment before switching to the houndoom.

"I would say 'let's try this again' and have you thank me for waking you up, but I think your mind has been made," he shrugged, either uninterested in trying to convince the rock type, or simply didn't care about gratitude.

There was no reply from the geodude before the krinar spoke up. "Hey, you really should thank him. And him." He nodded to Splash, who stood contentedly, not looking at anything specific. The geodude followed Etire's eyes and stopped upon the quagsire, clearly noticing something amiss.

When he didn't respond, Zaion heaved a patient sigh and turned toward the other end of the cavern. He said nothing as he strolled away, and tentatively, Maka headed on after him once she thought she had stood on the spot long enough. She eyed the rock type as she passed him, as did Etire, who followed. The stranger was left to sit, appearing to be mulling things over in his mind.

"He was grateful," Maka muttered grudgingly once she caught up with Zaion. Splash and Etire dawdled behind, although the latter had a reason to do so. "And after all that concern I wasted on him."

"It'll probably pay off," the houndoom predicted, shrugging a little. "What's the bet he'll come running back – well, hopping back – in, what...ten seconds?" He added that her concern would have given him something to consider, but the rhyhorn was a little sceptical.

"Really?" she uttered bluntly, and the houndoom shrugged, nodding his head coolly.

"In four...three...two...one..." He lowered his head as he progressed.

Silence invited another voice, but when none came, Zaion was left to listen to the emptiness of the room, filled only by the pattering of the four pokémon's feet. A little disappointed by his failed prediction, he scowled. "Well, it was worth a try."

The rhyhorn eyed him a little strangely before sighing and glancing behind, watching the dumbfounded – or just rude – geodude whose body was still glued to the floor. He merely watched them go, possibly a little lost for what to do himself.

"Hey," Etire called from shortly behind, earning the attention of the rhyhorn and houndoom. He laid his eyes on the former. "Isn't that geodude from your heard? I haven't seen any living here so it seemed weird that this guy might be on his own."

Maka's expression hardened, but she slowly shook her head. "I don't recognise him. He evidently didn't know who I was either, so...maybe he was from another part of the clan that I didn't converse with."

Etire made a noise of acknowledgement and frowned a little, figuring that he must have somehow been right. Maka was a little disheartened by the fact that the geodude had not been grateful, especially if he _was _from her clan, although she couldn't say that ingratitude hadn't been shown to her before, but had also not been expected in this situation. She figured she would be best just to forget the situation instead of waste thought on it.

After a time of travelling, the four encountered slopes and rises time and again, and Zaion wondered if they were finally being led to the surface. The thought had flashed to his mind a few times, and he was indeed excited by the prospect, which seemed a likely outcome. If they were low enough down to be at the receiving end of a falling geodude, then they were obviously not at the highest level in the caves. It left room for many more floors, any of which he knew could lead them out.

At one point, the tunnel was a spiralling ramp ascending to the top floor above, which they reached and met with several paths. It was difficult choosing one that all three agreed on – as Splash was content to follow any of them without question – and much of the time, two were in agreement while one opposed. Democracy was condoned by Zaion but loathed by Etire, who believed that a physical fight had a better chance of achieving a resolution. However, when the houndoom asked him to test that theory, the pokémon remembered his injuries and withdrew his statement.

Eventually the time came when the cavern brightened significantly, as previously, the fire type was required to use his flame to light the way. The exercise did get tiring, and he was glad for some natural light. However, the presence of light wasn't just comforting and convenient—it meant they must have been near an opening of some kind, such as a window or, if they were lucky, a way out. Once voicing his opinion and hearing the others groan and nod in response, he cleared his throat and began looking about the room. Obscured at first by a stalactite was a small hole in the ceiling which let in a considerable amount of light in a blocky shaft, which he could see as he passed under it, and called his companions over to see for themselves.

Etire was the last to arrive, and when he looked up, his face brightened. "Does this mean we're close to the surface? _Finally_?"

"Do not be deceived," Maka warned, and the other two looked at her in concern. The comment made it sound as if she had experience with similar things.

"What do you mean?" the psychic and fighting type questioned.

"Just because there's an opening here, it doesn't mean we'll suddenly find our exit." She threw her head to the opposite end of the room. "We have no choice but to keep moving, but try not to get your hopes up."

"_Yeah_, but we'll get out of here at some point," protested Etire stubbornly, as if keen to gain confirmation from her that escape was at least a possibility. He was a little discouraged at her words, which made it difficult for him to summon the necessary motivation to continue. He knew that he had no choice, as she had mentioned, but he found it easier nonetheless to have a proper goal.

"Duh," Zaion muttered with a little amusement, keeping his brow raised and his smile freshly tantalising.

Despite the low hopes they had for an escape to meet them quickly, they each continued on, Splash wandering happily behind. The stench from the pool had not worn off, and every now and again, the males would be reminded of their adventures in the mucky water. Maka smelled it as well, but she kept ahead of the group to avoid it any directional wafts. Nobody questioned her decision, but it didn't exactly comfort them. Splash didn't seem to mind.

"There goes my stomach," Zaion commented with a shred of humour as a rumble reverberated from his midsection, and immediately the krinar turned to him.

"I am so freaking hungry!" he bellowed, slapping both of his hands to his torso. "Does this place even have food anywhere at all? I haven't seen a single plant...or fruit. I'm really craving fruit."

"Fruit," laughed Zaion in a muffled chuckle. "I want _meat_. What the elite of the world eat."

A look of questioning crossed the krinar's face as the fire type made the assumption, but didn't react, as he knew it was a simple ploy to entertain himself with small bouts of meaningless arguing. "Don't you think an _elite _pokémon would have gotten us out of here by now?"

"Being elite is not about taking responsibility for everyone else. Besides..." He flashed a sideways smile coated greasily with cruel amusement. "I'm not the one in bits and pieces."

"This is a battle wound," argued the krinar with light-hearted outrage, willing to argue only on a friendly level.

"Should I be sad that I don't have proof that I survived a bombardment of terrible, horrifying pebbles?"

"Maybe not, but those terrible, horrifying pebbles blocked your way back to the chamber the earthquake chased us out of," the krinar mentioned with a small grin.

"Yes...case of the dreaded pebble walls," Zaion snorted.

"The point is, we should find something to eat," Etire suggested, and finally Maka whirled around.

"We need to find a way out first," she reminded him, and he sighed, nodding in agreement. "I have a feeling we're on the right track..."

"We better be on the right track," the fighting type muttered. "I don't want to be stuck in here forever. As _delightful _as that sounds, I have a life on the surface."

"Nonsense," the houndoom began with an amused scoff. "Your female friend is stuck here too. You got all you need to start an underground clan!"

The krinar was clearly uncomfortable with the statement as he didn't reply, and Zaion wondered if he should have spoken at all. However, he had said it good-naturedly, and decided that if it was taken as an insult by the recipient, then he couldn't do anything to change that.

Both males came to a halt when their rhyhorn friend stopped in her tracks. Having not paid much attention, Zaion and Etire shifted their gazes from one another and laid them upon what occupied the rock type's attention, which looked to be something small and round. At first they had not a clue for what it could be, but that soon changed when the rhyhorn, extremely curious, moved towards the patterned ball. When she reached out to touch it, it suddenly uncurled, as if one simple touch was all it took to break its composure, and the olive pokémon's white underside sprawled with it as it stretched out across the ground. Even outspread, the pokémon was only around half the length she was. It posed no immediate threat, as it was unconscious, and Maka stared at it with unknowing eyes. Splash sat contentedly beside Etire while the other three tried to assess the situation, unsure of what to do.

"It's not...dead, is it?" questioned Etire slowly, and Maka shook her head, eyes still on the sandshrew before them.

"No, she's...not. She's just unconscious." She looked up, her face one of concern. "I think we should try to help her."

"How?" asked Etire sceptically; he had a feeling that he would have to carry her based on the fact that he had more versatile limbs than the houndoom or rhyhorn. He hoped she would be willing to carry the pokémon on her back instead.

"I'm...not sure, but if there are predators in here, we should bring her somewhere safe."

"We need to bring _ourselves_ somewhere safe," added Zaion, and Maka held her breath. "What do you propose we do?"

She looked to Etire. "Lift her onto my back."

The krinar eyed her for a moment before glancing to the houndoom, then followed her request. Despite the injuries he had sustained, he was able to hoist her up with the help of Zaion's curved horns, which, given there were two of them, provided suitable support. Once the sandshrew was set upon the rock type's back, she glanced around, trying to spot her but having trouble due to her intruding armour.

"We don't even know if we're close to the end. And that pokémon could weigh you down..." commented the psychic and fighting type, and the rhyhorn focused on the path ahead.

Zaion joined with her gaze. "Now what?"

Without looking to either of her companions, she answered, "We continue."


End file.
